Biden and Xi carry out marathon call amid mounting tensions

WASHINGTON — President Biden and President Xi Jinping of China confronted each other in a marathon phone call on Taiwan on Thursday, but neither side reported any concrete progress in that protracted dispute or any of the other issues that have flared up between the two powers in recent months.

In their first direct conversation in four months, Mr Xi sharply warned the United States not to intervene in the conflict with Taiwan, while Mr Biden tried to reassure his counterpart that his administration was not trying to change the current situation between the two sides. upset and warned that neither of them should.

“President Biden underlined that United States policies have not changed and that the United States strongly opposes anyone who will change the status quo or undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” said Karine Jean-Pierre. , the White House press secretary, told reporters. after the interview, which lasted two hours and 17 minutes.

China’s Foreign Ministry called it a productive conversation but resisted what it considers US provocations without directly mentioning a future trip to Taiwan by Speaker Nancy Pelosi that has infuriated Beijing in recent days.

“If you play with fire, you will set yourself on fire,” the ministry said in a statement, repeating a metaphor used in November also. It said Mr Xi had told Mr Biden that China was “firmly resisting” “interference by outside forces” in Taiwan’s status and that China would “never leave any room for Taiwanese independence forces in any form”.

“Public opinion must not be violated,” the statement added, referring to China’s position that Taiwan belonged to the government in Beijing. “I hope the American side can see this clearly.”

The call took place as Ms. Pelosi’s possible trip to Taiwan has raised hackles in Beijing, which has made ominous threats of retaliation if she continues. No trip has been officially announced, but Ms. Pelosi has asked other members of Congress to join her next month on what would be a house speaker’s first visit to the self-governing island in 25 years.

The White House was concerned that the trip would unnecessarily provoke China, while the United States and Europe are busy helping Ukraine fight Russian invaders. Mr Biden said publicly that the military thought it would be a bad time for Ms Pelosi to go. And while official White House officials say it’s up to the speaker to set her own schedule, the unspoken message interpreted on Capitol Hill has pressured her to postpone or cancel.

Tensions in the region have been high for months as China has refused to participate in the American-led attempt to isolate Russia, made assertive claims over its control of the Taiwan Strait and has been involved in several close midair operations. -encounters with American, Canadian and Australian aircraft. The war in Ukraine is closely monitored implications for Taiwananother small neighbor coveted by a great and aggressive power.

Mr Biden vowed to use force in May to defend Taiwan if it comes under attack like Ukraine, the third time he’s said that during his brief presidency, though he and his aides later insisted he wasn’t changing anything. long-standing US policy of “strategic ambiguity” about how it would react in such a circumstance. The president’s language at the time encouraged Taiwan and the American hawks even when it was condemned in Beijing. His language on Thursday seemed to be aimed at reducing the impression that he was taking a more assertive stance than previous presidents.

China’s aggressive behavior internationally comes as Mr. Xi faces significant problems at home ahead of a critical party congress in November, in which he is expected to be confirmed for a third term. China’s “Zero Covid” Lockdown Policy have been very unpopular and the economy has slowed significantly as youth unemployment rises and some regions suffer from mortgage and debt crises. Analysts said he wants to show he can take on the United States on his way to Congress.

In the run-up to Thursday’s call, Beijing made louder than usual statements about Ms Pelosi’s planned trip, implying that China could use military force if the speaker goes ahead with her plans. The United States would “bear the consequences” if Ms. Pelosi traveled to Taiwan, a State Department spokesman Zhao Lijian said this week.

The strong rhetoric was meant to dissuade Ms. Pelosi from making the trip, but it didn’t mean China would use force, said Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing. “The Chinese have made it clear that they want to cancel Pelosi’s visit, but Beijing certainly does not want a military conflict at this point,” he said.

But the atmosphere was “remarkably worse” than in March, when the two leaders last had a phone conversation, he added.

In the region, the USS Ronald Reagan carrier group left Singapore on Tuesday and headed north into the South China Sea toward the Taiwan Strait, which could increase pressure between the two nations.

A spokeswoman for the Seventh Fleet, Cmdr. Hayley Sims, described the move as the carrier’s “continued normal, scheduled operations as part of its routine patrol in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.” She declined to say if or when the carrier would reach the Taiwan area.

China supports the Russian war in Ukraine, buy large quantities of Russian oil and blaming the conflict on NATO’s expansion into Eastern Europe. The Chinese statement issued after Thursday’s call said leaders “exchanged views” on Ukraine, referring to the war there as a “crisis”, a nod to China’s fundamental support for Russia that Mr Biden has often criticized. .

US officials said the two presidents also discussed US tariffs imposed on China by former President Donald J. Trump and that Mr. Biden is considering lifting them, but no agreement was reached during the conversation.

China seemed sensitive to the industrial bill passed by Congress on Thursday to boost the US semiconductor industry and reduce reliance on China and other foreign manufacturers. “Attempts to disconnect or break supply chains in violation of underlying laws would not help boost the US economy,” the Chinese statement said. “They would only make the global economy more vulnerable.”

Ms Pelosi’s possible visit to Taiwan in early August comes at a particularly sensitive time for the Chinese military. The Communist leader, Mao Zedong, established the People’s Liberation Army on August 1, 1927, a date that is one of the most important on the military’s calendar.

An integral part of China’s military training is how to make a future takeover of Taiwan, an island of 23 million people that China claims as its own and has vowed to conquer if necessary.

Ms. Pelosi would travel on a military plane if she made the trip, as is traditional. One of the questions that arose during her planned visit was whether the Chinese Air Force would attempt to escort Ms. Pelosi’s plane, or interfere in any way, as it approached Taiwan.

The vote and outcome of the conversation could influence whether Mr. Biden and Mr. Xi meet in person later in the year in what would be their first face-to-face meeting since Mr. Biden became president, executive director Yun Sun said. of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington.

The two men have known each other since 2011, when they were both vice presidents, and meet in China on a “meeting journey” by Mr. Biden. Both are likely to participate in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, known as APEC, in Bangkok in November.

Peter Bakker reported from Washington, and Jane Pearl from Seoul. Li You contributed research from Shanghai.