Biden-Xi plan to meet, US official says, Xi warns over Taiwan

Beijing – President of the United States Joe Biden and the Chinese President Xi Jinping Biden ended a call Thursday with plans to arrange a face-to-face meeting for the first time since taking office, a senior U.S. official said during a briefing.

However, Xi stuck to strong words on the Taiwan issue, while Biden said the US position had not changed, according to official readings from the US and Chinese governments.

The readings did not indicate plans to meet in person, but both sides plan to maintain communication. There was an American official Briefing to reporters after the call.

“Finally there was an exchange … a conversation between the teams about a face-to-face meeting,” the official said, according to a White House transcript. “From my perspective, a clear, concrete agenda was presented and agreed upon.”

China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The two leaders’ latest conversation comes amid a particularly tense period between their countries Rhetoric around Taiwan. Beijing considers the democratically autonomous island part of its territory.

“The call is a mild positive and both leaders want to maintain a platform under deteriorating bilateral relations,” Eurasia Group analysts said in a note. “A suspension of high-level US-China dialogue in the future would be a negative sign for global stability.”

“Xi did not escalate China’s threats, but he appeared to be implicitly warning that Pelosi’s visit would inflame Chinese nationalism,” the report said.

Beijing has warned of “strong and decisive measures” if US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan this summer. Financial Times reported, Citing sources.

America’s “One China Policy” It has recognized Beijing as China’s sole legal government for the past few decades. The United States also maintains unofficial relations with Taiwan, with the policy of ensuring that the island has the resources to defend itself.

According to official readings from China and the White House, US policy on Taiwan has not changed, Biden said during a call with Xi on Thursday.

Tensions between the US and China have escalated under the Trump administration, which has imposed tariffs on billions of US dollars worth of goods from China and banned US businesses from selling goods to some Chinese technology companies.

Biden’s administration has turned the bilateral relationship into a strategic rivalry.

Both leaders, who He last spoke in March The US and Chinese governments said they also discussed the Russia-Ukraine war. Beijing has refused to call Moscow’s attack on Ukraine an invasion.

The call was “a step forward in discussing such deeply emotional matters as a worker. [way],” said Scott Kennedy, senior adviser and trustee chair of China Business and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“There is no chance that the United States will violate its own one-China policy,” Kennedy said. “Not even Pelosi’s visit will change that.”

Both countries described the call as “contest” and said it was initiated by the US

Chinese reading indicates that Biden requested the invitation. The White House said the call was part of the Biden administration’s “efforts to maintain and deepen the relationship between the United States and the United States.” [People’s Republic of China] And manage our differences responsibly and work together where our interests overlap.”