President Biden said Saturday he hopes to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping soon, amid America’s top diplomat traveling to China to tamp down tensions between the two nations.
Mr. Biden told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland he intends to look for common ground with China.
“I’m hoping that over the next several months, I’ll be meeting with Xi again and talking about legitimate differences we have but also how there’s areas we can get along,” Mr. Biden said in remarks broadcast on CNN.
Mr. Biden said he believes China’s leadership did not have full knowledge of the contents and whereabouts of the Chinese surveillance balloon shot down after passing over American airspace earlier this year.
The president’s calm tone on China comes as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting China this weekend, marking the first time a secretary of state has made the trip in five years. Mr. Blinken was dispatched to help quell tension between the U.S. and China.
• This article was based in part on wire service reports.
• Ryan Lovelace can be reached at rlovelace@washingtontimes.com.
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