Laying the groundwork

Momentum for a Xi-Biden meeting is building.

On Monday, Vice President Han Zheng met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

• This follows two days of meetings between China's top diplomat Wang Yi and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in Malta over the weekend.

The meeting readouts were surprisingly cordial.

• The Chinese readout said "the two sides can achieve mutual success and common prosperity" (MoFA).
• The US readout stated the two sides "explored potential areas of cooperation and advocated for progress on shared transnational challenges" (US State Department).

Get smart: The two recent meetings are building towards a meeting between Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden in at the November APEC Summit in San Francisco.

Get smarter: A Xi-Biden meeting is by no means a done deal. Plenty of wild cards – such as new US investment restrictions – could nip a Xi-Biden meeting in the bud.

What to watch: Top diplomat Wang Yi is headed to the US next month to further lay the groundwork for a Xi-Biden meeting.