Xi-Biden call: rediscovery of the art of diplomacy

US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping talked on the phone April 2 for the first time since meeting in November. While the call signals both sides’ interest in stabilizing their relationship, it also underscores the significant international and national challenges that Beijing and Washington face.

Xi and Biden are believed to have covered Taiwan, the possible US TikTok ban, tariffs and Chinese support for Russia, in the 105-minute call.

This phone call builds on the agreement between the two presidents at their face-to-face meeting in San Francisco last November to keep channels of communication open. It also indicates a potential return to the more frequent direct interactions of 2021 and 2022 and a slight thawing of the relationship between the two countries.

Together with an uptick of interactions among senior officials, the call is part of what appears to be a rediscovery of the art of diplomacy. Recent significant meetings include those of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, respectively, in Bangkok at the end of January and in Munich in February, as well as the current visit by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to Beijing.

Both the Chinese and US statements have emphasized the “candid and constructive” nature of the Biden-Xi call.

The candor is obvious from the many areas of disagreement between them, from trade tariffs to the future status of Taiwan, to name but two. What is more constructive in the relationship now is that Beijing and Washington appear to be committed to leave the February 2023 weather balloon incident behind them and prioritize face-to-face diplomacy over the megaphone variety. How far