Biden, Xi conduct call amid tensions
Conversation was over 2 hours, what leaders spoke about is unknown
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping confronted each other over Taiwan during a marathon phone call Thursday, but neither side reported any concrete progress on that long-standing dispute or any of the other issues that have flared between the two powers in recent months.
In their first direct conversation in four months, Xi sharply warned the United States against intervening in the conflict with Taiwan, while Biden sought to reassure his counterpart that his administration was not seeking to upset the current situation between the two sides and cautioned that neither should either of them.
“President Biden underscored that the United States’ policy has not changed, and the United States strongly opposes anyone who will change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters after the call, which lasted 2 hours and 17 minutes.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called it a productive conversation but pushed back against what it considers American provocations without directly mentioning a prospective trip to Taiwan by Speaker Nancy Pelosi that has riled Beijing in recent days.
“Playing with fire will set yourself on fire,” the ministry said in a statement, repeating a metaphor it used in November. It said that Xi told Biden that China “firmly” opposed “interference by external forces” on Taiwan’s status and that China would “never leave any space for Taiwan independence forces in any form.”
The call took place as Pelosi’s possible trip to Taiwan has raised hackles in Beijing, which has made ominous threats of retaliation if she goes through with it. No trip has been officially announced, but Pelosi has asked other members of Congress to join her next month for what would be the first visit by a House speaker in 25 years.
The White House has been concerned the trip would unnecessarily provoke China even as the United States and Europe are consumed with helping Ukraine fight off Russian invaders. Biden publicly said the military thought it would be a bad time for Pelosi to go. And although officially, White House officials say it is up to Pelosi to decide her own schedule, the unspoken message interpreted on Capitol Hill has been pressure on her to postpone or cancel.
Tensions have been high in the region for months, as China has refused to join the U.S.-led effort to isolate Russia, made assertive claims of control over the Taiwan Strait and engaged in several close midair encounters with U.S., Canadian and Australian aircraft. The war in Ukraine is being watched carefully for implications for Taiwan, another small neighbor coveted by a large and aggressive power.
Biden vowed in May to use force to defend Taiwan if it is attacked as Ukraine was, the third time he has said so during his brief presidency, even though he and aides later insisted he was not changing the long-standing U.S. policy of “strategic ambiguity” over how it would respond in such a circumstance. Biden’s language at the time heartened Taiwan and American hawks even as it drew condemnation in Beijing.