On the island paradise of Bali, and on the eve of the biggest G20 summit since the pandemic, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping they met for the first time in person as presidents in order to prevent tensions for various reasons between the United States and China from escalating further.
“There is no need for a new cold warBiden said this in front of the press at the end of his more than three-hour summit with his Chinese counterpart, a much-awaited meeting after the clashes between the two countries over trade, the war in Ukraine and the status of Taiwan.
“I am sure he understood exactly what I was sayingand I understood what he was saying,” Biden clarified after the meeting, in statements gleaned from The Washington Post.
“I have met Xi Jinping many times and we have been frank and clear with each other in all respects,” he added.
The US president said he does not think a Chinese attack on Taiwan is imminent. He further stressed that while the United States and China compete intensely, neither wants conflict.
“I didn’t see him as more confrontational or conciliatory than usual, I found him as he always was: direct and frank,” Biden commented on his feelings towards Xi now that the Chinese leader has consolidated his power .
After positing that the meeting could begin to calm tensions, he said he had asked the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, let him go to Beijing to follow up on Monday’s meeting.
Taiwan, the red line that remains unchanging
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry statement, Xi warned Biden that Taiwan, whose sovereignty China claims, is “the first red line not to be crossed” and assured that he hopes the United States will “honor their promise” not to support the island’s eventual independence.
For its part, the White House said Biden told Xi his policy towards Taiwan has not changed and that he continues to oppose any “unilateral changes” to the status quo.
Biden reiterated his support for the “one China” principle, meaning he is the only Chinese government recognized by Washington is the one based in Beijingwhich distances him from Taiwan’s independence aspirations.
In exchange for the recognition of this principle, however, the United States signed the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, which commits the country to the defense of Taiwan, even if it does not clarify whether the power would intervene in the event of a Chinese attack in a political manner known as “ambiguity strategic”.
In line with that policy, Biden expressed to the Chinese leader his objections to Beijing’s “coercive and increasingly aggressive” actions against the island, which endanger “peace and stability” in the Taiwan Strait and throughout the region., detailed the White House in its statement.
Source: AFP and EFE
Source: Clarin
