Biden and Xi maintain first discussions since November, speak Taiwan and tech | Joe Biden Information

United States President Joe Biden and his Chinese language counterpart Xi Jinping have had their first direct dialog since November, with officers describing their speak as “constructive”.

However particulars from Tuesday’s telephone name hinted at long-running tensions between China and the US, with Xi calling questions of sovereignty in Taiwan a “purple line” to not be crossed.

The leaders final spoke on the sidelines of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Financial Cooperation (APEC) summit in California in November, with either side hailing progress whereas remaining at loggerheads over points like Taiwan and know-how improvement.

Chatting with reporters on background on Tuesday, a US official mentioned the decision was meant to be extra of a “checking in” and was not essentially meant to realize any coverage breakthroughs.

“The 2 leaders held a candid and constructive dialogue on a variety of bilateral, regional, and international points, together with areas of cooperation and areas of distinction,” the White Home mentioned in a press release following the decision.

Xi, in the meantime, advised Biden that the 2 international locations ought to undertake a baseline precept of “no conflict, no confrontation” for the yr, based on state broadcaster China Central Tv (CCTV).

“We must always prioritise stability, not provoke troubles, not cross traces however preserve the general stability of China-US relations,” Xi mentioned, based on the broadcaster.

The decision precedes a number of weeks of diplomacy, with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen set to journey to China this week and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to observe within the weeks forward.

The White Home mentioned Xi and Biden addressed a laundry listing of topics, “together with counternarcotics cooperation, ongoing military-to-military communication, talks to deal with AI-related dangers and persevering with efforts on local weather change and people-to-people exchanges”.

“We imagine there isn’t a substitute for normal communication on the chief degree to successfully handle this complicated and infrequently tense bilateral relationship,” mentioned White Home Nationwide Safety Advisor John Kirby in a press briefing on Tuesday.

The talks come after months of heightened rigidity: The US navy, as an illustration, has highlighted “near-miss” incidents, the place ships within the Taiwan Strait almost collided and fighter jets have come dangerously shut to 1 one other, as a part of aggressive manoeuvring.

Each the US and China function in a number of key areas within the Pacific, together with the South China Sea, East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, and any collision might result in an escalation in tensions.

The Biden administration has made countering China’s rising navy and financial “assertiveness” within the area a key pillar of its international coverage. It has additionally sought to shore up navy alliances whereas sustaining commerce restrictions on Beijing.

Subsequent week, Biden will host Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the White Home. China’s affect within the area is ready to be on the prime of the agenda.

Beijing has mentioned US limits on superior know-how transfers and the sanctioning of Chinese language companies have put undue pressure on China’s economic system. Xi advised Biden that such measures are “not de-risking however creating dangers”, based on CCTV.

The US Home of Representatives, as an illustration, lately took actions in opposition to the China-based firm ByteDance. Final month, it referred to as for ByteSance to promote its US-based operations inside six months, or see its marquee product — the social media app TikTok — banned throughout the nation.

Home leaders mentioned the measure was aimed toward stopping consumer data from being handed to the Chinese language authorities, resulting in potential threats to nationwide safety.

The Home invoice has but to move the Senate, nevertheless. If it had been to be signed into regulation, the invoice would possible face authorized challenges within the US over free speech considerations.

The White Home acknowledged that the query of a TikTok ban was raised in Tuesday’s name.

One other difficulty looming over the dialog was Taiwan, an island China claims as its personal.

On Tuesday, Biden “emphasised the significance of sustaining peace and stability throughout the Taiwan Strait and the rule of regulation and freedom of navigation within the South China Sea”, based on the White Home.

Taiwan has lengthy been a degree of rivalry between the US and China. The US “acknowledges” the “One China” coverage and doesn’t overtly assist Taiwan’s independence. However whereas the US doesn’t have formal relations with the Taiwan authorities, it sells weapons to the island, and Biden himself has pledged to defend it ought to the territory face a Chinese language invasion.

Heightening tensions is the truth that Taiwan held a vote in January, electing Vice President William Lai Ching-te to be its subsequent president. Lai is a longtime supporter of independence for the self-governing island, and he’s scheduled to take workplace on Could 20.

In January, China’s Ministry of Nationwide Defence mentioned navy officers burdened throughout a gathering with US counterparts in Washington, DC, that Beijing “won’t ever compromise or again down on the Taiwan difficulty”.

Chinese language International Minister Wang Yi mentioned later that month that “Taiwan independence” posed the most important danger to relations between the 2 international locations.

Different worldwide conflicts had been additionally introduced up in Tuesday’s name. Biden, as an illustration, raised considerations over China’s “assist for Russia’s defence industrial base” amid Russia’s ongoing warfare in Ukraine.

Observers have mentioned Beijing seems extra keen to decrease tensions with Washington as its economic system faces a troubling outlook.