President Joe Biden talked about Taiwan in a telephone call on Thursday with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Xi and Biden spoke on Thursday morning in the midst of ongoing tensions between these two countries. The news that Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker is considering a Taiwan trip has only made these tensions worse.
According to a White House reading of the long call, Biden spoke in part about Taiwan and the American president said that “underscored” the U.S. strategy remains the same. (RELATED: White House Scrambles After Biden Promises War With China Over Taiwan)
“On Taiwan, President Biden underscored that the United States policy has not changed and that the United States strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” the White House noted.
U.S. President Joe Biden holds virtual talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping from the Situation Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., on March 18, 2022. REUTERS: The White House/Handout THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD-PARTY. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
The U.S. has long recognized the “One China” policy in which the Chinese government is the only government. Still, the U.S. has an unofficial relationship with Taiwan that includes arms sales.
While the White House’s readout provided sparse details of the Taiwan discussion, Chinese state media reportedly offered up a much harsher view of that portion of the talk, CNN reported. According to Chinese media reports, Xi told Biden that the “public opinion shall never be violated” and that “if you play in fire, you get burnt I hope the US can clearly see this,” Xi reportedly said.
Biden said earlier this week to reporters that Pelosi would not visit Taiwan if the military didn’t think it was a good idea.
