China tariff decision unlikely before call between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping
- US President Joe Biden and China’s leader Xi Jinping are expected to talk on Thursday, people familiar with planning said
- But a decision from the US president about whether to lift some duties on Chinese goods is not expected before the leaders talk
Tensions over Taiwan, as well as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are likely topics for a call expected this week between President Joe Biden and China’s leader Xi Jinping, the White House said on Tuesday, but the US leader is unlikely to make a decision on lifting tariffs on Chinese goods before the two speak.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that managing economic competition between the two countries would also be a focus of the call, which people familiar with the matter said was expected on Thursday.
It would be the fifth call between the leaders, and comes as China has delivered heightened warnings to the Biden administration about a possible visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to democratically governed Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory.
“Everything from the tensions over Taiwan, to the war in Ukraine, as well as how we better manage competition between our two nations, certainly in the economic sphere,” Kirby said of the topics to be discussed.
“This is a call that has been scheduled for a long time and there’s already a pretty robust agenda of things for these two leaders to talk about,” he said.
The administration has been debating whether to lift some tariffs on Chinese goods as a way to boost the US economy, but Kirby said a decision was not expected ahead of the call.