The West risks stumbling into nuclear conflict with China or Russia because backdoor channels between the rival powers have collapsed, the national security adviser has warned.
Sir Stephen Lovegrove said the world’s superpowers understood each other better during the Cold War and since then there has been a breakdown in communications which means there is a greater risk of accidental escalation.
President Biden is expected to hold a phone call with President Xi today to try to ease tensions over Taiwan, the autonomous island China claims as its own. The pair have not spoken since March, although Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, met Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, this month.
President Xi is expected to hold a phone call with President Biden today
SELIM CHTAYTI/REUTERS
In Washington yesterday, Lovegrove praised the White House’s decision to re-engage