United States President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first direct conversation this Tuesday (2) since meeting in November, with Biden seeking to prevent tensions from escalating before the presidential inauguration. from Taiwan in May.
Biden used the call to emphasize “the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea,” the White House said in a statement.
Xi said ties between China and the US were beginning to stabilize, but warned that they could “fall into conflict or confrontation”, according to Xinhua news agency.
Xi warned Biden that the US is “not diminishing risks, but creating risks” by suppressing China’s trade and technological development and adding new entities to the sanctions list.
The Biden administration has imposed bans on the sale of certain technologies to Chinese companies, citing national security risks. China accused Washington of using economic and trade issues as a weapon.
In Tuesday's call, Biden said the U.S. “will continue to take necessary steps to prevent advanced U.S. technologies from being used to undermine our national security, without unduly limiting trade and investment,” the White House said, adding that the call lasted one hour and 45 minutes.
Biden and Xi agreed in November to reopen military communications and cooperate to curb fentanyl production. They have not spoken by phone since July 2022. After the November meeting, Biden told reporters that he had not changed his view that Xi is a dictator, a comment that angered China.
China considers Taiwan, a self-governed island with democratic elections, to be part of its territory and recently removed language about “peaceful reunification” from its budget. Taiwan vehemently opposes China's sovereignty claims and maintains that only the island's people can decide its future.
Taiwan's current vice president, Lai Ching-te, who Beijing considers a separatist, won the presidency in January and Beijing has increased pressure on Taiwan ahead of his inauguration in May.
Biden and Xi also discussed concerns about China's support for Russia's war against Ukraine, its economic trade practices, human rights abuses in Xinjiang and the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, the White House said.
The US president also warned Beijing about escalating clashes in the South China Sea, which China claims almost entirely in conflict with international law.
A senior administration official had previously said Biden would express concern about “China's destabilizing actions in the South China Sea, including the PRC Coast Guard's recent dangerous action against routine Philippine maritime operations.”
Relationships in recovery
Biden and Xi continued talks seeking to smooth out a difficult period in relations that worsened after an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon passed through the United States and was shot down by an American fighter jet last year.
Relations have shown signs of improvement in recent months as both sides have taken steps to reestablish communication channels after ties between the two global superpowers reached their lowest level in decades.
“The two leaders welcomed continued efforts to maintain open channels of communication and responsibly manage the relationship through high-level diplomacy and working-level consultations in the coming weeks and months,” the White House said.
Biden and Xi also talked about ways to manage competition and avoid conflicts.
“Intense competition requires intense diplomacy to manage tensions, deal with misperceptions and avoid unintended conflicts. And this phone call is one way to do that,” said a senior US government official.
The two leaders also discussed several areas where U.S. and Chinese interests align, including anti-drug trafficking efforts, risk and security issues related to artificial intelligence, resuming military-to-military communications and efforts to combat climate change.
Source: CNN Brasil
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