WASHINGTON (Washington Insider Magazine) – A U.S. official has indicated that Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden will speak on Thursday. This will be their first discussion in 4 months and comes as Beijing and Washington are once again at odds over China’s territorial claims to Taiwan.
The sixth in a string of regular check-ins, the scheduled conversations between the 2 leaders have been in the pipeline for weeks. The tense relationship has been further strained by the prospect of a trip to Taiwan by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the leading Democrat in Congress and the second in line to the president.
Taiwan is a self-governing island that Beijing claims as part of its territory, and Beijing has warned that if Pelosi visits, it would take “forceful measures,” according to ABC NEWS.
However, Biden last week told journalists that U.S. military authorities thought it was “not a good idea” for the house speaker to visit the island at this time. Pelosi hasn’t confirmed plans to travel to Taiwan. Following last week’s Financial Times article that Pelosi will be traveling to Taiwan in August—a trip she had previously intended to take in April but had to reschedule after testing positive for COVID-19—Biden made his remarks.
As per security policy, the speaker has chosen not to comment on whether she intends to travel to Taiwan.
Pelosi has been discreetly reminded by administration representatives that visiting Taiwan may worsen an already precarious situation.
Chinese officials are making no apologies and making it clear that a visit by Pelosi would be seen as a provocation and a shift in U.S. policy.
The “One China” policy, which acknowledges Beijing as the government of China while allowing for informal connections and defense links with Taipei, has long been a priority for the United States. There are suspicions that China is attempting to frighten Taiwan into agreeing to Beijing’s demands to unite with the communist mainland by increasing its military provocations against the island in recent years.
The nuclear programme of North Korea, disagreements between Washington and Beijing regarding Russia’s conflict in Ukraine, attempts by the Biden administration to resurrect the Iran nuclear deal, and the state of the American administration’s review of the tough tariffs placed on China by the Trump government could also be topics of discussion during the talks between Xi and Biden.
Following Russia’s war and ongoing attempts to annex large portions of eastern Ukraine, long-simmering tensions over Taiwan have come into sharp focus.
Biden issued a warning to allies, primarily those in the Indo-Pacific, saying that China would be closely observing how democracies reacted as it perceived its next moves on Taiwan. The warning came as the U.S. raced to put together a global alliance to hit the Russian economic system with severe sanctions following Vladimir Putin’s commanded incursion of Ukraine.
Jake Sullivan, the national security advisor for the White House, expressed concern on Friday that Beijing could be learning some “concerning” lessons from the 5-month-old conflict in eastern Europe. He did, however, add that Taipei has been forced to take a thorough look at the situation.
When Xi and Biden last spoke in March, just 3 weeks after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, Taiwan dominated the discussion.
China has regularly threatened to establish its claim to Taiwan by force, and has launched hundreds of planes in Taiwanese controlled airspace since Biden came into office 18 months ago. The U.S. is required by law to ensure that the island democracy can protect itself and to take any threats seriously.
The discussion takes place as Biden’s advisers on national security and the economy reach the end of a study of American tariff policy and get ready to present suggestions to the president.
Under President Donald Trump, billions of dollars’ worth of Chinese goods were subject to a 25% duty. The sanctions were enacted to minimize the trade imbalance with China and compel them to follow more ethical business practices.
