VP Harris meets with China’s Xi in bid to ‘keep lines open’

By KRUTIKA PATHI
Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has spoken briefly with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in another step toward keeping lines of communication open between the two biggest economies. A White House official says Harris and Xi exchanged remarks Saturday while heading into a closed-door meeting at the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Bangkok. The official says Harris echoed President Joe Biden’s comment to Xi at an earlier meeting between the two leaders that China and the U.S. must keep lines of communication open to “responsibly manage the competition between our countries.” On Friday, Harris pitched the U.S. as a reliable economic partner, telling a business conference on APEC’s sidelines that the U.S. was there to stay.