Taiwan is likely to be the main topic of discussion when US Vice President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet next week. This will be their first face-to-face meeting since Mr. Biden became Vice President in 2020.
The long-awaited meeting is happening when relations between the two superpowers are at their worst.
This has been made worse by Beijing’s claims over Taiwan, which is self-ruled, and by its growing strength in Asia.
In response, the US has made it harder to get computer chip technology.
Xi-Biden Meeting Deal
China’s export-based economy, which uses tech to make and sell things like phones and electric cars, has been hurt by this.
Given the recent rise in tensions and harsh words, the world, including America’s Asian allies like India, Japan, and Australia, will be paying close attention to the meeting that will take place in Bali on Monday before the G20 Summit.
During the pandemic, Mr. Xi spent most of his time in China, and he has only just started to travel again.
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“I’m sure we’ll talk about Taiwan, and when we do, I want to lay out what each of our red lines is,” Mr. Biden said at a press conference on Thursday after the White House confirmed the meeting.
Chinese President Xi Jinping greeted U.S. President Joe Biden as ‘old friend’ at the start of their first video meeting, using an expression that Biden has pushed back on https://t.co/nUQIfF7x0K 1/4 pic.twitter.com/TEUE2vNEM5
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 16, 2021
So, he said, they can “figure out if they’re in conflict with each other and, if they are, how to solve and work it out.”
He also said, though, that he wasn’t willing to “make any fundamental concessions” about how the US treats Taiwan.
Beijing thinks of the island as its own land that needs to be joined to the mainland. But Taiwan thinks it is different.
Unlike other US presidents, Mr. Biden has said many times that the US would defend Taiwan if China attacked.
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But the White House has always pushed back on what he said, saying that Washington’s policy of “strategic ambiguity,” in which it doesn’t promise to defend Taiwan but also doesn’t say it won’t, remains the same.
US President Joe Biden will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bali, Indonesia on November 14. The leaders will discuss efforts to maintain & deepen lines of communication b/w US & China, responsibly manage competition & work together where our interests align: The White House pic.twitter.com/fpKzLBqw1k
— ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2022
State media said earlier this week that Mr. Xi has told the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to “focus all energy on fighting a war… and build the ability to win.”
Mr. Xi is said to have said that the army must “strengthen military training in preparation for war” because China is in a “unstable and uncertain” position.
Joe Biden and Xi Jinping stressed their responsibility to the world to avoid conflict as the heads of the two top global economies gathered for hours of talks https://t.co/ozLYix0xMA 2/4 pic.twitter.com/SSWI2y5pYD
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 16, 2021
When US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went to Taiwan in August, tensions went through the roof. China’s answer was to hold big military drills around the island.
Thursday, the White House said it would tell Taiwan about the results of the meeting between Biden and Xi. National security adviser Jake Sullivan said the goal was to make Taiwan feel “secure and comfortable” about US support.
Meanwhile, China’s foreign ministry said that the US should work with China to avoid misunderstandings and mistakes. It also said that while China wants peace with the US, “the Taiwan question” is at the heart of its interests.
Joe Biden pressed his Chinese counterpart on Beijing’s human rights practices in an over three-hour call while Xi Jinping warned that China would respond to provocations on Taiwan https://t.co/xh047eQcDY 3/4 pic.twitter.com/YxfN0MzJ3l
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 16, 2021
At the Chinese Communist Party congress last month, Mr. Xi said again that China would “never promise to stop using force” against Taiwan.
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He said that they could “take all necessary steps” if “outside forces” got in the way of China’s claims.
The US has been on a tightrope over Taiwan for a long time. The One China policy is a key part of its relationship with Beijing. It says that Washington recognizes only one Chinese government, the one in Beijing, and has no formal ties with Taiwan.
But it also keeps close ties with Taiwan and sells it weapons under the Taiwan Relations Act, which says that the US must give Taiwan the tools it needs to protect itself.
