US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to hold a virtual summit before the end of 2021 as tensions rise between China and Taiwan.
The virtual meeting was reportedly only made possible after US National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan met with senior Chinese foreign policy advisor Yang Jiechi in Zurich, Switzerland on Wednesday.
'When China and the United States cooperate, the two countries and the world will benefit,' China's Xinhua news agency reported.
US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (pictured with Biden in 2013) are set to hold a virtual summit before the end of 2021 as tensions rise between China and Taiwan. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has yet to confirm the details of the meeting but the two presidents are expected to discuss tariffs, human rights and Chinese secrecy about the origin of Covid-19
The digital meeting has reportedly only been made possible after US National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan (left) met with senior Chinese foreign policy advisor Yang Jiechi (right) in Zurich, Switzerland earlier today
The news comes as China continues to threaten Taiwan. On Monday, China warned that World War III could be triggered 'at any time' after it sent dozens of warplanes into Taiwan's airspace.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has yet to confirm the details of the meeting.
Psaki said at Wednesday's daily press briefing: 'Leader-level engagement is an important part of our effort to responsibly manage the competition with China, especially given the coalescing of power in Chinese leadership.
'We’re still working through what that would look like, when and of course the final details.'
It's unclear how much of the virtual summit will be public.
Currently, China claims Taiwan as its own territory but Taiwan says it's an independent country that will defend its freedoms and democracy, blaming China for the tensions.
Xi said Taiwan will be taken by force if necessary. A reported 148 Chinese air force planes were in the southern and southwestern part of Taiwan's air defense zone over a four-day period beginning on Friday - the same day China marked a key patriotic holiday, National Day.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday vowed to 'do whatever it takes' to guard Taiwan against invasion as she indicated that without help from the country's allies 'authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy'.
'They should remember that if Taiwan were to fall, the consequences would be catastrophic for regional peace and the democratic alliance system.
'It would signal that in today's global contest of values, authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy,' she added.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (pictured in Beijing on September 30, 2021) claims Taiwan as China's territory but Taiwan says it's an independent country that will defend its freedoms and democracy, blaming China for the tensions
President Tsai Ing-wen (pictured in October 2020 in Taipei) vowed to 'do whatever it takes' to guard Taiwan against invasion as she warned that if the country's allies allowed it to fall 'it would signal that authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy'
Nearly 150 Chinese warplanes have breached Taiwan's airspace since Friday, including nuclear-capable bombers on Monday in a dramatic increase in aggression
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