US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held their first conversation since March on Thursday, a call the White House says is aimed at maintaining stability in relations despite mounting tension over Taiwan and China. the war in Ukraine.
(Also read: Beijing tense relationship with the US before talk between Biden and Xi Jinping)
The call is the fifth time the two presidents have spoken since Biden took office.
The dialogue is overshadowed by friction over a possible trip by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan next month.prompting warnings of a “firm and strong” response from China.
(It may interest you: Blinken and Lavrov will speak for the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine)
US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said in June that relations with Beijing had deteriorated to probably the “lowest point” since former President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China in 1972.
China views any trip to Taiwan by Pelosi as a violation of the agreement that helped establish ties between Washington and Beijing half a century ago, including the US promise to end formal relations with Taipei.
Pelosi has declined to confirm her travel itinerary, citing security concerns. The itinerary includes stops in Indonesia, Japan and Singapore, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, adding that Taiwan remains off the official itinerary.
The White House has not taken a public position on any visit to Taiwan, saying it is Pelosi’s decision, but Defense Department officials have privately expressed concern to the speaker and her staff.
A question of sovereignty
Wang Yang, a Communist Party official, told a meeting on Tuesday that “no individual or force should underestimate the determination, will and ability of the Chinese people to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity.” At the same time, US lawmakers from both parties have argued that it is important that the congressional leader shows no signs of giving in to pressure from the Chinese government.
Republican lawmakers have particularly seized on Pelosi’s trip and Biden’s reluctance to show public support, saying he should go ahead with the visit and accusing the president of kowtowing to Beijing. Biden, who was isolated by covid-19 until yesterday, has said little publicly on the matter. It’s not clear if he supports the trip or if he discussed it directly with Pelosi.
He told reporters last week that the US military did not think a visit by Pelosi was a good idea, causing consternation in Taiwan. When the two presidents last spoke, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, Biden pressed Xi not to support President Vladimir Putin’s war.
Biden and his advisers are also still evaluating whether to reduce some of the tariffs imposed on Chinese imports by his predecessor.r, former President Donald Trump, although US officials have downplayed the likelihood of the issue coming up on the call.
John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said before the call that he expected Biden and Xi to discuss Taiwan, as well as the economic relationship between the two superpowers and China’s aggression in the South China Sea. He did not say whether Pelosi’s trip would come up in the conversation and how Biden would respond to any concerns raised by Xi.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With data from Bloomberg
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