BEIJING (Washington Insider Magazine) – During a phone call with his American counterpart, Joe Biden, President Xi Jinping issued a warning against interfering with China’s relations with Taiwan. However, there was no sign of progress on trade, technology, or other issues, including Beijing’s opposition to a possible visit by a prominent American lawmaker to the island nation, which the mainland asserts as its own territory.
In addition, Xi cautioned against dividing the two largest economies in the world, according to a Chinese government report of the unusually long, 3-hour discussion on Thursday. According to ABC NEWS, economists and businesses fear that such a move, prompted by Chinese industrial strategy and U.S. restrictions on technology exports, might harm the global economy by stifling innovation and raising costs.
According to a U.S. source who declined to be named further, Biden and Xi are considering the prospect of meeting in person. A face-to-face encounter might take place in Indonesia as Xi has been invited to attend a gathering of the Group of 20 leading economies there in November.
The Chinese authorities made no mention of whether Xi and Biden talked about Nancy Pelosi’s potential visit to Taiwan, which the country’s Communist Party claims is unconstitutional. However, Xi disapproved of any intervention by external forces that would have incited Taiwan to seek to formally renounce its decades-old de facto independence.
The forceful tone from Xi, who often attempts to appear above political disagreements and makes blandly favorable public statements, suggested Chinese authorities may think Washington didn’t appreciate the gravity of earlier warnings concerning Taiwan.
Following a civil war that resulted in a Communist triumph on the mainland, China and Taiwan divided in 1949. Despite the fact that they don’t have any formal ties, commerce and investment worth billions of dollars connect them. Both sides claim to be one nation, but they dispute as to which government should hold the position of national leadership.
Prior to the conversation on Thursday, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defense stated that Washington should not organize for Pelosi to visit Taiwan. He warned that the People’s Liberation Army, the military component of the ruling party, will take decisive action to oppose any outside intrusion.
The “one-China principle,” which refers to Beijing’s assertion that Taiwan and the mainland constitute a single entity, was a request made by Xi to the United States, according to the statement. In contrast, the United States maintains a “one-China policy,” which states that Washington does not have an opinion on the matter but favors a peaceful conclusion.
According to Biden, who was quoted in the statement, the United States opposes Taiwan’s bid for independence.
Friday’s coverage of the discussion in China’s fully state-owned media was restricted to reiterating official government remarks.
Pelosi has not yet made a decision on her trip to Taiwan, but if she does, she will be the highest-ranking elected American politician to travel since then-Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997.
In reaction to Gingrich’s 3-hour visit to the island, Beijing chastised him for claiming that the United States would support Taiwan in the case of a Chinese assault but doing little further.
Since then, as the mainland economy developed to become the second-largest behind the United States, China’s stance on Taiwan has become more rigid. The governing party spent billions of dollars in the development of fighter planes and other cutting-edge weapons, such as “carrier killer” missiles, which are likely meant to prevent the U.S. Navy from aiding in the island’s defense.
In a year when Xi, who came to power in 2012, is anticipated to attempt to break with tradition and appoint himself to a third 5-year term as party leader, the dispute over a potential Pelosi visit is especially sensitive to Beijing.
Xi has pushed for a more muscular foreign policy because he wants to be viewed as reclaiming China’s proper historical position as a world leader. In an effort to frighten Taiwan’s democratically elected government, the PLA has dispatched an increasing number of bombers and fighter aircraft to fly close to Taiwan.
Despite not having any formal diplomatic ties, the US and Taiwan nevertheless have close political and economic ties. Federal law requires Washington to ensure Taiwan has the resources to defend itself.
According to an official release, Xi urged for collaboration on lowering the danger of an economic crisis, coordinating macroeconomic measures, combating COVID-19, and “de-escalation of regional hot spots.”
Additionally, he cautioned against the strategic separation of the American and Chinese economies, or their “decoupling.”
Business owners and industry experts have warned that due to China’s pressure on its own companies to make their own technology benchmarks and U.S. regulations on Chinese access to technology that Washington views as a security risk, global industries may be split into different markets with incompatible products. That might ramp up costs and limit innovation.