US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping have spoken on the phone for the first time since their crisis meeting in California in November, the White House said on Tuesday.
After a year of complete radio silence, the two presidents met in person last November near San Francisco in order to stabilize strained relations. They promised to follow up with regular phone calls - an agreement that has finally been honoured.
A high-ranking representative of the US government said that further dialogue at Cabinet level was to be expected after the presidential telephone call. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen plans to travel to China again in the coming days and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the coming weeks.
Visits by members of the Chinese government to the US are also planned. In addition, there will soon be a telephone call between the defence ministers of the two countries.
The resumption of military communication between the two powers was seen as the most important outcome of the in-person meeting between Biden and Xi in California four and a half months ago.
The US government had previously complained that the usual direct exchange between the armed forces was not working and that this could lead to dangerous misunderstandings and miscalculations in crisis situations.
The relationship between the world's two largest economies has long been tense, partly due to economic sanctions against Beijing, and fears in the West that China's army could invade Taiwan.
