CREDIT: (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Eraldo Peres, File)
Joe Biden, Xi Jinping
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping could meet in person for the first time since Biden took office, a senior administration official says.
The two leaders spent more than two hours on the phone Thursday amid rising tensions between their nations. Xi emphasized China’s claim over Taiwan, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says “those who play with fire will perish by it.”
For its part, the White House says Biden underscored U.S. opposition to “unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.” Relations between the two countries have been strained by talk of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s potential trip to the island, which has a democratic government.
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