BACK OFF OR ELSE, XI WARNS BIDEN
‘Those who play with fire will eventually get burned’
WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have agreed to schedule their first in-person summit, after a tense phone call during which Mr Xi warned the US not to “play with fire” in Taiwan.
Although this was their fifth phone or video call since Mr Biden took office a year and a half ago, the summit would be their first in-person meeting as leaders.
Mr Biden and Mr Xi “discussed the value of meeting face-to-face and agreed to have their teams follow up to find a mutually agreeable time to do so,” a senior US official told reporters on the condition of anonymity.
Both sides described the call, which lasted two hours and 17 minutes, as a robust exchange on the many disputes between the world’s two biggest economic powers.
China’s state-run Xinhua agency said Mr Xi delivered harsh words on US policy towards Taiwan, a democratic island with close ties to the US but which China considers part of its territory.
“Those who play with fire will eventually get burned,” Mr Xi was quoted as telling Mr Biden, repeating language he employed when they spoke last November. “I hope the US side fully understands that.”
Tensions around Taiwan are steadily escalating amid fears that Mr Xi could ultimately order an invasion to impose Beijing’s rule.
The call came as Taiwan conducted five days of massive “live fire” military exercises, designed to test its ability to stop a Chinese invasion.
In the latest flashpoint,
Chinese authorities are furious at unconfirmed plans by Biden ally and speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, to visit the island.
Although US officials frequently visit Taiwan, separated by a narrow strip of water from the Chinese mainland, Beijing considers a Pelosi trip as a major provocation.
She’s second in line to the presidency and, given the seniority of her position, may use military transport.
Washington will “bear the consequences” if the trip goes ahead, China warned.
During the call, Mr Xi was quoted as telling Mr Biden “the position of the Chinese government and people on the Taiwan issue is consistent … it is the firm will of the over 1.4 billion Chinese people to firmly safeguard China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
In response, Mr Biden reassured Mr Xi that US policy, known as “strategic ambiguity”, was unchanged – essentially favouring the status quo in Taiwan, with Washington recognising Chinese sovereignty but opposing any enforcement, allowing the Taiwanese to retain their distinct rule.
“On Taiwan, President Biden underscored that the United States policy has not changed and that the United States strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” the White House said in a statement.
Mr Biden prides himself on a close relationship with Mr Xi going back years, but it’s getting hard to mask deepening mistrust between the two countries.
US officials said Mr Biden touched on a raft of sensitive issues, including China’s “genocide and forced labour practices” and its increasingly aggressive military posture across Asia.
The White House described Mr Biden’s outreach as part of “efforts to maintain and deepen lines of communication” and to “responsibly manage our differences and work together where our interests align”.
According to the White House, Mr Biden’s chief hope is to establish “guardrails” for the two superpowers.
This is meant to ensure that while they disagree on democracy, and are increasingly rivals on the geopolitical stage, they can avoid open conflict.