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Joe Biden and Xi Jinping are in contact. © Doug Mills/Pool The New York Times via AP/dpa
In November, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping met in California to ease relations between the two countries. They promised to talk on the phone more often again. They are now redeeming that.
Washington - US President Joe Biden and China's head of state Xi Jinping spoke by telephone for the first time since their emergency meeting in California in November. The White House announced this following the conversation.
The two presidents met last November near the US metropolis of San Francisco for a personal meeting after a whole year of complete radio silence in order to stabilize relations between the two countries. There they also agreed to talk on the phone regularly again in the future. They now complied.
A senior US government official said that further exchanges at the level of Cabinet members were expected after the presidents' phone call. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wants to travel to China again in the coming days and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the coming weeks. Visits by members of the Chinese government to the USA are also planned. There should also be a telephone conversation between the defense ministers of both countries soon.
The resumption of military communication between the two countries was considered the most important result of the crisis meeting between Biden and Xi in California four and a half months ago. The US government had previously repeatedly complained that the usual direct exchange between the two countries' armed forces was not working and that this could lead to dangerous misunderstandings and miscalculations in crisis situations.
Relations between the world's two largest economies have long been strained, including after economic sanctions against Beijing and amid fears in the West that China's army could invade Taiwan. dpa