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Biden and Xi talk for first time this year to stop tension mounting

Biden and Xi talk for first time this year to stop tension mounting

Chinese President Xi Jinping waves as he walks with US President Joe Biden at Filoli estate on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Woodside, California, US on Nov 15, 2023. (File photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first direct talks on Tuesday (Apr 2) since meeting in November, with Biden looking to keep tensions from mounting ahead of Taiwan's presidential inauguration in May.

A senior administration official said before the call that Biden will re-affirm US support for Beijing's "One China policy" and reiterate the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Biden and Xi agreed in November to reopen direct military communications and cooperate to curb fentanyl production. But the two leaders haven't spoken on the phone since July 2022. After November's meeting, Biden told reporters he had not changed his view that Xi is a dictator, a comment that irked China.

China regards Taiwan, a self-governed island with democratic elections, as part of its territory and recently left out language about "peaceful reunification" from its budget. Taiwan strongly objects to China's sovereignty claims and says only the island's people can decide their future.

Taiwan's current Vice President Lai Ching-te, who Beijing views a separatist, won the presidency in January and Beijing has increased pressure on Taiwan ahead of the inauguration in May.

"DESTABILISING ACTIONS IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA"

On Tuesday, Biden and Xi will also discuss concerns over China's support for Russia's war against Ukraine, its economic trade practices, human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, the US official said.

Biden is also likely to warn Beijing over escalating confrontations in the South China Sea, an area China claims almost entirely - in conflict with international law.

"The President may also express concern over destabilising PRC actions in the South China Sea, including the dangerous recent action of the PRC Coast Guard against routine Philippine maritime operations", the official said.

Biden and Xi have continued their talks looking to smooth over a rocky period in relations that took a turn for the worse after a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon transited the United States and was shot down by a US fighter jet last year. 

Relations have shown signs of improvement in recent months as both sides took steps to re-establish channels of communication after ties between the two global superpowers sank to their lowest levels in decades.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in January and then US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in February. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to China in April.

"INTENSE COMPETITION REQUIRES INTENSE DIPLOMACY"

Biden and Xi will also talk about ways to manage competition, avoid conflict and keep lines of communication open.

"Intense competition requires intense diplomacy to manage tensions, address misperceptions and prevent unintended conflict. And this call is one way to do that," the senior US administration official said.

The Biden administration has imposed bans on the sale of certain technologies to Chinese companies, citing national security risks. China has accused Washington of "weaponising" economic and trade issues.

The two leaders will also discuss several areas where US and Chinese interests align, including counternarcotics efforts, risk and safety issues related to artificial intelligence, resumption of military-to-military communications and efforts to fight climate change, the official said.

"INTERESTING" TIMING FOR TALKS

The timing of the talks was "interesting" for several reasons, including Yellen's impending visit to Beijing, said Bonnie Glaser, managing director of the Indo-Pacific Program at the German Marshall Fund.

Chinese and US military officials will also hold a working-level meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii this week to discuss operational safety, while a new president will be inaugurated in Taiwan next month.

"This is an important time, I think, to have a touch point between the leaders and they of course expressed their concerns about many issues, but I think they also emphasised their shared interest in trying to maintain stability in the US-China relationship," she told CNA's Asia First. 

She added that with these diplomatic engagements on the horizon, one of the main messages that Biden raised - and that Yellen will discuss - is Chinese industrial overcapacity and the global economic consequences of that spreading over capacity into various markets around the world. 

"We don't know whether the Chinese will take that on board and limit what looks like it's going to be a flood of products to markets overseas," Glaser added.

"I don't think (there) will be any breakthroughs, but I think that engaging with the Chinese on these issues over time, hopefully we will make some progress."

She further noted that both Xi and Biden want to sustain the dialogue between their governments on a range of issues, with some being resurrected after engagements went dormant for some time between both countries.

"I thought it was quite interesting that Xi Jinping, in the readout of his engagement with President Biden, talked about the need for peace, stability and credibility.

"These are three new ideas put together by Steven Pinker principles that should guide the relationship," Glaser added, referring to the world-renowned psychologist and cognitive scientist.

She also said that the change of leadership in Taiwan as well as maritime issues in the South China Sea will be especially important areas of discussion.

Meanwhile, Biden is set to hold the first three-way summit with Japan and the Philippines next week. Glaser said China will be uneasy about what they see as the formation of anti-Chinese coalitions, but she does not think that is what the US is doing.

"The reassurances that Biden gave Xi Jinping was certainly not that China would not be discussed because of course, they will be on the table, but these are not intended to be anti-China coalitions."

Source: Agencies/fs/lt
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