U.S., China trade barbs ahead of summit

As Biden, Xi prepare for Tuesday’s virtual meet, top diplomats from both countries spar over Taiwan

The lead-up to Tuesday morning’s virtual summit between United States President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping has seen the two countries exchange sharp remarks on Taiwan, one of many thorny issues on which both sides are unlikely to make much headway.

In a telephone call between top U.S. and Chinese diplomats, both sides expressed concerns over the other’s position on Taiwan, with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi attacking “the U.S.’s wrong words and deeds” and saying that “any connivance of and support for the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces...would only boomerang in the end.”

China last also week hit out at a visit by a U.S. congressional delegation to Taiwan, while the People’s Liberation Army carried out more drills that have followed recent record aerial intrusions into Taiwan’s Air Defence Identification Zone.