The White House announced on Monday that US President Joe Biden will speak by phone with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, when the new members of the Chinese government take office.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan did not give a specific date for the call, saying only that it will take place after China’s National People’s Assembly (ANP, equivalent to a parliament) legislature and the new government take office. .
During the PA, Xi, general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), consolidated his power by being nominated for a third five-year presidential term, something unheard of under his predecessors.
Xi’s continuity was not in question, but there were expectations about the reshuffle of the executive branch and key state organs.
One of the appointments that could lead to more tensions with the United States is that of new Defense Secretary General Li Shangfu, who was targeted by Washington’s sanctions in 2018 after he was accused of buying weapons from the Russian state-owned company Rosoboronexport.
Source: DN
