US President Joe Biden will speak Thursday with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, a US official said, amid new tension over Taiwan, the war in Ukraine and a decision over whether to remove some Trump-era tariffs.
Separately, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby said Tuesday there would be a “robust agenda” during the call, including about Taiwan and the war in Ukraine. When they speak, it will be the fifth call between the two leaders, he said.
The call follows US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s meeting in Luxembourg in June with China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi this month in Bali.
Pelosi visit threatens to overshadow agenda
Biden’s main objective will be to ensure the latest eruption of Chinese rage over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s planned trip to Taiwan doesn’t derail discussions for a long-awaited in-person meeting between Biden and Xi in November.
A potential visit to Taiwan by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is looming over the conversation set for Thursday, with China warning of a severe response if she travels to the self-governing island democracy Beijing claims as its own territory.
On Wednesday, China’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the presidential phone call. However, spokesperson Zhao Lijian reiterated China’s warnings over a Pelosi visit.
“If the US insists on going its own way and challenging China’s bottom line, it will surely be met with forceful responses,” Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing. “All ensuing consequences shall be borne by the US”
Pelosi’s office has yet to say when, or even if, she will proceed with the visit, but the timing is especially sensitive amid heightened tensions between Beijing and Washington over trade, human rights and Taiwan.
Tensions loom over Taiwan...
The US has only informal relations and defense ties with Taipei in deference to China, but remains the island’s most important source of military and political support. Legally, the US is obligated to ensure Taiwan can defend itself and regard threats to it as matters of “grave concern.”
China, which in recent years has boosted its threat to use force to annex Taiwan if necessary, objects to all US arms sales and contacts with the island’s government.
It regularly stages military exercises and flies warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, in what it calls warnings to supporters of the island’s formal independence and their foreign allies.
The sides split amid civil war in 1949 and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has refused Beijing’s demand that she recognize the island as a part of China. Public sentiment in Taiwan strongly favors maintaining the status quo of de-facto independence without further antagonizing Beijing.
... but other tensions also exist
In the months leading up to the call, Biden officials have been debating whether the president should lift some of the tariffs his predecessor Donald Trump imposed on imports to help ease inflation. But it is unclear if Biden will raise the issue of trade with his Chinese counterpart.
The leaders will almost certainly discuss the war in Ukraine. The US has criticised China’s stance, including its unwillingness to call out Russian president Vladimir Putin or describe the war as an invasion.
The US is also concerned about dangerous Chinese military manoeuvres. Chinese intercepts of allied and partner aircraft in international airspace in the Pacific region have increased “several-fold” over the last five years, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, calling Beijing’s behavior “much more confrontational” than five to 15 years ago.
China’s activity, he said, “seems to imply that they want to bully or dominate, as opposed to having a free and open” Pacific.
(with inputs from AP)
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