Xi Jinping refuses to have phone call with Biden 

This is reported by Reuters. 

According to the agency's sources, Beijing did not show interest in arranging a telephone conversation between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, although the US president five weeks ago expressed a desire to contact the Chinese leader after the incident with the Chinese spy balloon, which was destroyed in American airspace.

Reuters' sources say that Washington is seeking to reset relations with Beijing, and Biden's call would be the first step. However, despite the efforts of US diplomats, the Chinese have shown little interest in dialog. The conversation could be the first interaction between the leaders after their November meeting at the G20 in Bali.

The recent meeting between US State Secretary Antony Blinken and China's top diplomat Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference did not ease tensions either. The agency's source called their conversation the most antagonistic since the contentious US-China talks in Alaska in 2021.

"China had declined to coordinate the meeting, forcing the State Department's top East Asia diplomat, Daniel Kritenbrink, to personally track down Wang Yi at the conference center to ask whether it would happen," the source said.

Reuters emphasizes that amid this, Xi Jinping traveled to Moscow. However, it notes that Joe Biden believes that the degree of interaction between Moscow and Beijing is greatly exaggerated.

• On March 20, John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator for the US National Security Council, said that Joe Biden is interested in talking to Xi Jinping.