US President Joe Biden said he would “definitely” meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Xinping if the latter attended the G20 summit to be held in November in Bali, Indonesia. In response to a question about a possible meeting, he noted: “If there is something there, I’m sure I’ll see it.” This is happening against the backdrop of an escalating confrontation between China and the United States.

The two presidents spoke to each other several times after the election of Joe Biden, but have not met since the inauguration of the President of the United States. And every conversation between them ends with a promise to keep open the high-level channel of communication between Washington and Beijing, without advancing the two superpowers in the context of the numerous points of contention between them.

On the contrary, tensions between the two countries continue to escalate, especially over Taiwan. On Friday, the United States announced a $1.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan. And he demanded that China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory, withdraw from this deal, threatening to take “countermeasures.”