Biden, European Commission President agree to coordinate policies on China, Russia

US President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday in a telephonic conversation agreed to coordinate their policies toward several countries including China and Russia.

During the interaction, Biden reiterated his support for the European Union and commitment to "repair and revitalize the US-EU partnership".

"Noting US-EU shared values and the world's largest trade and investment relationship, the leaders agreed to suspend the tariffs related to the World Trade Orgzation (WTO) Aircraft disputes for four months and to work toward resolving these long-running disputes at the WTO," said the White House in a statement.

Biden and von der Leyen also discussed the importance of close bilateral cooperation to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and enhance global health security, pursue a sustainable global economic recovery, tackle the climate crisis, and strengthen democracy.

"The leaders also agreed to coordinate on issues of shared interest, including China, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and the Western Balkans," the White House added.

This comes as the United States under the Biden-led administration, last month, announced the launch of a new China task force that will provide recommendations on military strategy to the Department of Defense (DoD) to counter growing challenges posed by Beijing.

He had earlier said that the US needs to meet the growing challenges posed by China to keep peace and defend its interests in the Indo-Pacific and globally.

The relations between the US and China have deteriorated sharply over the last year in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, China's efforts to curtail Hong Kong's autonomy, and the US-China trade war.

( With inputs from ANI )