President Biden had a two-hour conversation with Xi Jinping

President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a telephone conversation on Friday that lasted about two hours. It was the first face-to-face conversation between the two leaders this year. At the center of the discussion was the war in Ukraine. Joe Biden urged Xi Jinping to refrain from giving any military or economic aid to Russia because of the sanctions imposed on it.

President Biden, outlined the views of the United States, allies and partners on the Ukraine crisis. He described in detail the effect and consequences of what would happen if China materially supplied Russia while it carried out attacks against Ukrainian cities and civilians.

During the conversation, Xi Jinping told Joe Biden that China would not like to see the war in Ukraine continue. President Xi noted that the international situation has changed significantly since he and President Biden spoke one-on-one last November, and added that the former global attitude toward peace and mutually beneficial development is now facing significant challenges, making the world unstable.

Also today, Chinese authorities reiterated their calls for negotiations and humanitarian aid donations for Ukraine, accusing the United States of “provoking” Russia and “promoting conflict” by supplying weapons to Kiev.

Earlier, U.S. Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman told MSNBC that the Chinese leader should tell Vladimir Putin to “end the bloody war” in Ukraine.

“China should stand on the right side of history. He must ensure that he does not undermine, financially or otherwise, the sanctions that have been imposed on Russia,” Sherman said.