By India Today Web Desk: United States President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are slated to meet ahead of a Group of 20 (G20) summit amid tensions over the Russia-Ukraine war. The Chinese leader will arrive in Bali on Monday where the highly-anticipated conclave will take place. Biden reached Bali during the late hours on Sunday.
Reports suggest that the two leaders are expected to take up Taiwan, Russia's military offensive in Ukraine and North Korea's nuclear ambitions. Issues are similar to the ones on the G20 agenda, however, in the absence of the Russian President, Vladimir Putin. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov is set to represent Moscow at the international conclave. The Kremlin stated Putin's busy schedule as the reason for not attending the G20.
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It may be noted that Beijing and Washington have been at loggerheads over a host of issues, sometimes bilateral but mostly the US attempting to slash China's intrusion into Hong Kong and the South China Sea.
US-China ties have degraded since the former has imposed several trade sanctions on the latter and blocked Chinese technologies, owing to the alleged oppression of Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region. Also, on the Taiwan-China feud, Beijing has snubbed United States' intervention and had condemned US lawmakers Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August. Following this, an alert and seemingly provoked China even issued a White Paper about its intentions in Taiwan, as testimony that Taiwan belonged to China.
Pelosi's visit enraged China and it carried out a series of military drills in Taiwan's sky, claiming the self-governed democratic island as Beijing's own territory.
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In September, Biden said that US forces would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, thus attracting more stink from Beijing.
Addressing Asian leaders in Cambodia on Sunday, Biden said that the US would 'compete vigorously' with Beijing while 'ensuring competition does not veer into conflict'. The US president stressed the importance of peace along the Taiwan Strait while he addressed the East Asia Summit in Cambodia's Phnom Penh.
Reports suggest that Biden and Xi have communicated virtually or via telephonic conversations since Biden's induction as the president in January 2021. Previously, the two leaders had met while Barack Obama was the president and Biden was vice president of the United States.
The newly-appointed United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will meet Lavrov at the summit, as per news agency Reuters. Also, billionaire Elon Musk is expected to attend one of the G20 sessions virtually, as per reports.