Behind the scenes: Biden had requested the call with Xi, “not seeking specific outcomes or agreements” but to “have a broad and strategic discussion about how to manage the competition between the United States and China,” said a senior administration official shortly before the call.

Biden wanted to “test the proposition” that having these conversations at “the leader level will be more effective than what we have found below him,” the official added.

The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and talked on condition of anonymity, said Biden’s goal was to establish a “steady state of affairs” between the U.S. and China — to “set guardrails” so that they have a “stiff competitive posture” without spiraling into unintended conflict.