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Biden and Xi set to clash over Putin's war in Ukraine

  US President Joe Biden is expected to tell Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday that Beijing will pay a steep price if it supports Russia's military operations in Ukraine, a warning that comes at a time of deepening acrimony between the nations.
Biden and Xi will speak by phone, scheduled for 9 a.m. Eastern time (1300 GMT) after warnings from Washington that Beijing risks isolation if it offers Russia greater support.
The talks will be the first between Biden and Xi since November and their fourth interaction since Biden took office in January last year and are likely to be loaded with tension.
As Biden and Xi prepared for their talks, a Chinese aircraft carrier sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Friday.
The USS Ralph Johnson, an Arleigh Burke guided missile destroyer, shadowed the carrier at least partly on its route.
China claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own, and has over the past two years stepped up its military activity near the island to assert its sovereignty claims, alarming Taipei and Washington.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Biden would will make clear to Xi that China would bear responsibility if it supported Russia's "aggression" and Washington "will not hesitate to impose costs."
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