US President Joe Biden held a call with China's President Xi Jinping on Tuesday to discuss issues including maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait.
It is the first call between the leaders since the met in November. The White House described the call, which lasted nearly two hours, as “candid and constructive”.
The leaders also addressed military communications and co-operation to curb the production of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is the leading cause of drug overdoses in the US.
“We believe there is no substitute for regular communication at the leader level to effectively manage this complex bilateral relationship and both presidents agree to pick up the phone and speak when needed,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
The call comes as the Biden administration seeks to de-escalate tensions with China, before the inauguration of Taiwan's President-elect Lai Ching-te in May. He has said he wants to preserve the island's de facto independence from China.
“President Biden emphasised the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea,” the White House said in a readout of the call.
The last time Mr Biden and Mr Xi met face to face was in November, during a summit in California.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is set to arrive in China on Thursday, in a further push to improve relations. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to China in the coming weeks.
During her trip, Ms Yellen is expected to press Chinese Premier Li Qiang and other officials on “unfair trade practices” and the global consequences of Chinese industrial overcapacity, the Treasury Department said.
She will also hold talks to address expanding co-operation on illicit finance, climate change and debt distress.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the leaders also the call to discuss TikTok, the Chinese-owned video-sharing app that harvests enormous amounts of user data.
US politicians passed a bill last month that could lead to the platform being banned in the country.
“TikTok came up today, yes,” Mr Kirby told reporters. “[Mr Biden] made it clear to President Xi that this was not about a ban of the application, but rather our interest in divestiture so that the national security interests and the data security of the American people can be protected."
During the call, Mr Biden raised concerns about China's “support for Russia’s defence industrial base”, according to the readout, as Moscow presses ahead with its invasion of Ukraine.
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In the role: Since January 2015
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- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
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- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
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Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami
Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
