“This is the kind of relationship trend that President Biden strongly believes in, even with nations that you may have significant differences with,” National Security Council communications coordinator John Kirby said this week. Planning for Biden’s phone call with Xi preceded the furor over Pelosi’s proposed visit to Taipei, after it had been under discussion for weeks. Biden is also currently considering whether to lift some Trump-era tariffs on China in an effort to ease inflation, though White House officials said he had not yet decided and suggested the issue would not greatly affect the conversation of with Si. . Rather, it is China’s escalating aggression in the region — including Taiwan and the South China Sea — that is at the heart of today’s tensions. US officials fear that without open lines of communication, misunderstandings could lead to unintended conflict. That includes how Beijing responds to Pelosi’s possible visit to Taiwan. Administration officials worked quietly last week to convince the speaker of the House of the dangers of visiting the self-governing island. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday that he spoke with Pelosi to provide his “assessment of the security situation.” Pelosi has made no announcement about her travel plans, which have not been finalized. “I never talk about my trip. It’s a risk for me,” he said on Wednesday. But even unofficial word that the third US president was considering a visit to Taiwan prompted an overblown response from Beijing, which sees visits by high-ranking US officials as a sign of diplomatic ties to the island. “If the US insists on following its own course, the Chinese military will never stand idly by and will definitely take strong action to prevent any foreign power interference and separatist plans for ‘Taiwan independence’ and resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Defense Department spokesman Tan Kefei said Tuesday in response to questions about Pelosi’s reported trip to Taipei. The White House called those comments “unnecessary” and “unhelpful,” saying the rhetoric only served to escalate tensions “in a completely unnecessary way.” They also exposed what US officials said was a misunderstanding by Chinese officials about the significance of Pelosi’s potential visit. Officials said China may be mistaking Pelosi’s visit for an official government visit since both she and Biden are Democrats. Administration officials worry that China doesn’t separate Pelosi from Biden much, if at all. That adds pressure to Biden’s call with Xi. Officials were tight-lipped about whether Pelosi’s visit would occur or how much it would contribute to the debate. However, China’s apparent confusion over the differences between the White House and Congress could inject a level of personal animosity into the talks. Administration officials’ concerns about Pelosi’s trip are rooted in part in its timing. It will come at a particularly tense time, with the upcoming congress of the Chinese Communist Party in which Xi is expected to seek an unprecedented third term, putting pressure on the leadership in Beijing to show strength. Chinese party officials are expected to begin laying the groundwork for that conference in the coming weeks. With China recently reporting its worst economic performance in two years, Xi is in a politically sensitive situation ahead of the important meeting. Biden and Xi spent many hours in each other’s company when each was vice president of their respective countries, traveling across China and the United States to bond. However, they have not met face-to-face as their presidential counterparts, with Xi mostly avoiding travel during the Covid-19 pandemic. That could change in November, when a series of summits in Asia — including the Group of 20 in Bali and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Bangkok — will provide an opportunity for a face-to-face meeting. People familiar with the matter said US officials are trying to arrange such a meeting on the sidelines of one of the summits. Biden last spoke with Xi in March, when he worked to persuade the Chinese leader not to back Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine. Officials are closely watching how Beijing responds to the invasion, hoping that the West’s largely unified response — including a withering series of economic sanctions and billions of dollars in arms shipments — proves enlightening as China considers its actions toward Taiwan . US officials believe there is a small risk that China will miscalculate in response to a possible Pelosi visit. Biden administration officials are concerned that China could seek to declare a no-fly zone over Taiwan ahead of a possible visit in an attempt to derail the trip, potentially further escalating tensions in the region, a US official told CNN. That remains a remote possibility, officials said. More likely, they say, is the possibility that China will further step up flights into Taiwan’s self-declared air defense zone, which could prompt renewed discussions about possible responses from Taiwan and the US, the US official added. They did not specify what those possible answers would entail. CNN’s Arlette Saenz and Betsy Klein contributed to this report.
