Biden calls Chinese President Xi Jinping about U.S.-China relationship

In their first conversation in seven months, President Biden spoke by phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday evening. This was a call initiated by Mr. Biden and motivated by what is essentially his exasperation that lower-level Chinese officials have been unwilling to hold substantive conversations with his administration. 

A senior administration official said that the president wants to keep the channels of communication open so the two countries do not unintentionally "veer into conflict." The intent is to have a strategic conversation about how to manage competition between the two world powers. The official also said phone call was a test — to see if conversations at the very highest level would be more effective, given Xi's consolidation of power. Mr. Biden has repeatedly mentioned his personal familiarity with Xi. He told CBS News' Norah O'Donnell in February, "I had 24-25 hours of private meetings with [Xi] when I was vice president, traveled 17,000 miles with him. I know him pretty well."