Beijing: US President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping traded strong warnings on the future of Taiwan at a virtual summit meant to establish “guardrails” against conflict between their rival superpowers.
The video-link summit, which took place late Monday in Washington and early Tuesday in Beijing, lasted a “longer than expected” three and a half hours, a senior US official told reporters. “The conversation was respectful and straightforward.”
While the goal was to settle an increasingly volatile relationship between the giant economic and geopolitical competitors, tension over Taiwan — a self-governing democracy claimed by China — loomed large.
Chinese state media reported after the summit that Xi cautioned Biden that encouraging Taiwanese independence would be “playing with fire.”
“Some people in the US intend to ‘use Taiwan to control China.’ This trend is very dangerous and is like playing with fire, and those who play with fire will get burned,” he was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.
The White House readout after the summit was considerably more measured, but between the lines, Biden’s pushback against Beijing’s increasingly aggressive posture toward Taiwan was clear.
“On Taiwan, President Biden underscored 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 statement said.
The statement reiterated longstanding US policy that does not recognize Taiwan’s independence but supports defense of the island.
According to the US official, who asked not to be identified, there was “extended discussion of Taiwan” during the summit.
Biden also raised “concerns” over wider issues of human rights abuses and mass repression against the Uyghurs in the northwest region of Xinjiang.
The two leaders have spoken by phone twice since Biden’s inauguration in January but with Xi refusing to travel abroad because of the pandemic, an online video meeting was the only option short of an in-person summit.
Xi, speaking from Beijing, called Biden “my old friend,” but said their countries had to work more closely.
“We face multiple challenges together. As the world’s two largest economies and permanent members of the UN Security Council, China and the United States need to increase communication and cooperation,” he said, speaking through an interpreter in brief public remarks, before they went behind closed doors.
Both Biden and Xi emphasized the need for working together on major global issues, especially Covid-19 and climate change.
“A sound and steady China-US relationship” is needed “for safeguarding a peaceful and stable international environment,” Xi said.
Biden Warns Against ‘Unilateral’ Moves To Change Status Of Taiwan
Washington: President Joe Biden told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday that he has “concerns” over human rights abuses and also warned against “unliteral” moves to change the status of Taiwan, the White House said.
“President Biden raised concerns about the PRC’s (Chinese communist party) practices in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong, as well as human rights more broadly,” the White House said in a readout after the virtual Biden-Xi summit.
“On Taiwan, President Biden underscored that the United States… strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
The video-link summit, which took place late Monday in Washington and early Tuesday in Beijing, lasted a “longer than expected” three and a half hours, a senior US official told reporters. “The conversation was respectful and straightforward.”
While the goal was to settle an increasingly volatile relationship between the giant economic and geopolitical competitors, tension over Taiwan — a self-governing democracy claimed by China — loomed large.
The two leaders have spoken by phone twice since Biden’s inauguration in January but with Xi refusing to travel abroad because of the pandemic, an online video meeting was the only option short of an in-person summit.
