(Washington) Xi Jinping and Joe Biden agreed on the principle of a face-to-face meeting on Thursday during a telephone interview lasting more than two hours, despite the tensions around Taiwan which led the Chinese president to warn his American counterpart not to “play with fire”.
Updated yesterday at 5:32 p.m.
According to an American official who requested anonymity, the two men, who have never met face-to-face since Mr. Biden came to power, “have agreed that their teams will ‘strive to find a mutually agreeable time to do so’.
However, no timetable has been announced.
Both sides described the telephone call, the fifth virtual meeting between the two leaders, as “frank”, a diplomatic term which means that the disagreements between the two countries remain numerous.
The New China Agency reported that the Chinese president had issued a warning to Mr. Biden about Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory to be taken back, by force if necessary.
“Those who play with fire end up getting burned,” warned the Chinese president, repeating comments made to the American president during their last meeting in November.
“I hope the US side fully understands this,” Xi added, as Beijing has been threatening “consequences” for several days if US Deputy Chief Nancy Pelosi goes through with her plan to visit Taiwan.
For his part, the American president stressed that the position of the United States on Taiwan had “not changed”, said the White House.
The United States has recognized the Chinese regime since 1979, according to the principle of a “one China” whose capital is in Beijing. They do not officially recognize Taiwan, while supporting the island militarily.
Mr. Biden added that “the United States opposes[aient] firmly to unilateral efforts to alter the status or threaten peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” the US executive added in a statement.
Opposed to any initiative that would give the Taiwanese authorities international legitimacy, Beijing is against any official contact between Taiwan and other states, and therefore against the potential visit of Nancy Pelosi.
Although US officials travel to Taiwan frequently, Beijing considers a trip by Mme Pelosi, one of the highest figures in the American state, would be a major provocation.
General Mark Milley, the US Chief of Staff, told the press that if Nancy Pelosi requested “military support” he would “do what is necessary to ensure the safe conduct” of his affairs.
Status quo on tariffs
The tensions surrounding this trip are only part of the problem. US officials fear that President Xi is mulling the use of force to impose control on Taiwan.
Once considered unlikely, an invasion, or some other form of military action, is increasingly seen by observers as possible.
Joe Biden’s contradictory statements on Taiwan – he said in May the US would defend the island, before the White House insisted the policy of ‘strategic ambiguity’ had not changed – did not help.
According to the White House, Mr. Biden’s main objective during this telephone interview was to establish “safeguards” for the two superpowers, in order to avoid an open conflict despite their differences and their geopolitical rivalry.
No progress has been made on the issue of the 25% tariffs imposed on billions of dollars of Chinese goods by ex-President Donald Trump, which Mr Biden could raise to fight inflation in the United States. United.
“On the issue of tariffs, President Biden explained to President Xi […] the core issue of China’s unfair trade practices that hurt American workers and hurt American families, but he did not discuss potential actions he could take,” the U.S. official told reporters.