China suggests dialogue with US as Joe Biden likely to take tough stance against Beijing

As US President-elect Joe Biden is likely to take a tough stance against China, Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday said that Beijing and the US “should initiate dialogue at all levels”

Sputnik quoted Wang as saying at the meeting with the US-China Business Council’s Board of Directors, “China and the US should initiate dialogue at all levels, any issue can be discussed at the negotiating table. Thus, it is possible to keep in touch on strategic and long-term issues.”

“The Chinese side is always ready to negotiate, the sides can draft a list [of topics] to promote dialogue, cooperation and to settle differences,” he added.

This comes amid reports that Biden is expected to come through with his pledge to mobilise America’s allies in a long-overdue determination to stand up to China, forcefully, multilaterally, and effectively.

In February, Biden had described Chinese President Xi Jinping as a ‘thug’, while US President Donald Trump had called Xi a ‘great leader’, and has also admitted backing away from holding Beijing accountable for the Chinese president’s rampages in Hong Kong and Xinjiang in order to gain advantages at the trade-talks table, writes Terry Glavin for the Canadian journal Ottawa Citizen.