The foreign ministers of the United States and China spoke over the phone on Sunday. They are believed to have tried to arrange a summit between President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping.

The US State Department says Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed the need to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage the relationship between the two countries.

The talks come amid a standoff between the two countries over Taiwan and other issues.

Concerning the summit, Biden has expressed his willingness to hold his first face-to-face talks with Xi on the sidelines of the next month's G20 summit in Indonesia.

The Biden administration sees China as its biggest competitor. It is aiming to "compete responsibly" with the country.

The State Department says Blinken brought up the war in Ukraine as well as the threats Russia poses to global security and economic stability.

Blinken apparently wanted to discourage China from providing military assistance to Russia.