Mr. Biden and Mr. Xi spoke by phone on Sept. 9, but the two leaders have not met in person since Mr. Biden’s inauguration. The Chinese leader has not left his country for nearly two years, out of concern with the coronavirus pandemic. But he came out of
a meeting of China’s Communist Party elite this week with his already formidable power enhanced, including praise for “a marked increase in China’s international influence” in the
official summary of the meeting.
China has been at the forefront of the Biden administration’s foreign policy.