As the United States and China continue discussions on a virtual summit to be held between the countries’ two leaders next week, one thorny topic looms large: the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, CNBC reports.
President Xi Jinping of China is expected to use the discussion, expected next week, to extend a personal invitation to U.S. President Joe Biden to attend the events in Beijing in February, said two people familiar with the matter.
The invitation would serve as a challenge to Biden to decline and put the relationship on ice; or accept and contradict his administration’s own messaging on democracy and human rights.
The White House and National Security Council declined to comment on how the president would respond to such an invitation. Karine Jean-Pierre, White House principal deputy press secretary, previously said staff were working out details of the summit, which was focused on managing the countries’ competition, not on “deliverables.”
