The United States and China clashed in rare talks on Friday as President Joe Biden made his international debut at the Group of Seven (G7) summit, with his administration pressing Beijing on Covid-19, Taiwan and human rights.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, joining Biden at the summit of industrial democracies in England, spoke by telephone with senior Chinese official Yang Jiechi, their first talks since a heated in-person encounter in Alaska in March.