Joe Biden will talk this Friday with Xi Jinping about the war in Ukraine

US President Joe Biden will talk with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on Friday, mainly about the war in Ukraine, the White House reported Thursday.

“The two leaders will discuss how to handle competition between our two countries as well as Russia's war in Ukraine and other issues of common interest,” the White House stressed.

Spokeswoman Jen Psaki highlighted that the dialogue between Biden and Xi is “part of our ongoing efforts to keep the lines of communication open” between the United States and China.

The Chinese regime has refused to condemn its ally Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine, while blaming the worsening tensions on NATO's eastward expansion.

US officials have warned that China has amplified Russian misinformation that could be a pretext for Putin's forces to attack Ukraine with chemical or biological weapons. There are also reports - denied by the Kremlin - that Russia has asked China for help in the face of sanctions and an invasion that is facing harsh resistance from Ukrainians.

The call will come after an intense seven-hour meeting in Rome between White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Chinese senior foreign policy adviser, Yang Jiechi.

At the meeting, Sullivan called for more transparency about Beijing's stance on Russia and repeated that any attempt by China to help Russia avoid sanctions would be costly for Xi's government.

News in development

(With information from AFP and AP)