Xi Jinping and his US counterpart spoke for more than two hours on Thursday as Beijing raised concerns about a possible trip to the Chinese-claimed island by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. According to Chinese state media, Xi said the United States should uphold the “one China principle” and stressed that it strongly opposes Taiwan independence and interference by outside powers. Beijing has issued escalating warnings about the repercussions should Ms Pelosi – a top Democrat like Biden – visit Taiwan, which it says faces growing Chinese military and economic threats. Read more: Badly timed visit to Taiwan could lead US and China to ease into a crisis “Those who play with fire will only get burned,” Xi told Biden, according to Chinese state media. “We hope the American side can see this clearly.” The White House released its own description of the conversation on Taiwan, saying Biden “underscored that United States policy has not changed and that the United States strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits”. . According to US officials, the call had a broad agenda that included Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which China has yet to condemn. When the pair spoke in March, Mr Biden warned of “consequences” if Beijing provided material support to Russia’s war – and the US government believes that red line has not been crossed in recent months. But the exchange was another chance to manage competition between the world’s two biggest economies, whose ties are increasingly clouded by tensions over democratically-ruled Taiwan, which Xi has promised to reunite with the mainland. , by force if necessary. Washington has no formal relations with Taiwan and follows a “one China policy” that diplomatically recognizes Beijing rather than Taipei. But it is required by US law to provide the island with the means to defend itself, and pressure in Congress has mounted for more explicit support. Image: A missile is fired from a Taiwanese ship as part of simulated exercises to intercept and attack an invasion force “We’re going to keep the lines of communication open with the president of China, one of the most important bilateral relationships we have, not just in this region, but around the world, because it touches so many,” White’s national security spokesman said. House. John Kirby told reporters before the call. That was the view echoed by former UK national security adviser Lord Darroch, who welcomed the talks. He told Sky News: “China is both the second largest economic power in the world, the major trading partner for the West and in fact the world’s laboratory for an awful lot of manufactured goods and goods. “But it’s also a strategic challenge. It bullies its neighbors and has sided with Putin over Ukraine. “I still think there’s a chance we can get China to a position in the next few years where it’s going to be a constructive member of the international community, but I’m afraid there’s a lot of room for concern.”
