The top diplomats from China and the US have exchanged stern warnings over the flashpoint issue of Taiwan, ahead of today’s hotly awaited summit between their leaders.
The virtual meeting of US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) comes against a backdrop of rising tensions — in part over Taiwan.
In a telephone call on Friday with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) to discuss preparations for the summit, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised concerns about Beijing’s “military, diplomatic and economic pressure” on Taiwan.
Photo: Reuters
The US Department of State said in a statement that Blinken “emphasized longstanding US interest in peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait” in the call with Wang.
Blinken “expressed concern regarding the People’s Republic of China’s continued military, diplomatic, and economic pressure against Taiwan,” and he “urged Beijing to engage in meaningful dialogue to resolve cross-Strait issues peacefully and in a manner consistent with the wishes and best interests of the people on Taiwan,” the statement read.
Wang warned of the dangers of US actions that might seem supportive of “Taiwan independence.”
“Any connivance of and support for the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces undermines peace across the Taiwan Strait and would only boomerang in the end,” Wang told Blinken, according to a readout of the call released by China yesterday.
China has ramped up military activities near Taiwan in the past few years, with a record number of planes intruding into the nation’s air defense identification zone early last month.
Washington has repeatedly signaled its support for Taiwan in the face of what it has described as Chinese aggression.
Biden has largely kept the tougher approach on Beijing of his predecessor, former US president Donald Trump, with both administrations seeing a rising China as the top challenge of the 21st century.
While the world’s top two emitters of greenhouse gases last week unveiled a surprise agreement to work together on climate change, Washington and Beijing have indicated that they would not give ground on flashpoint issues.
US officials have framed today’s summit as an opportunity to “responsibly manage competition,” while trying to cooperate in areas where the two align.
Xi last week warned against the return of Cold War-era tensions in the Asia-Pacific region.
Biden and Xi have talked by telephone twice since the veteran Democrat moved into the White House. The pair also met extensively when Biden was former US president Barack Obama’s vice president and Xi was vice president to former Chinese president Hu Jintao (胡錦濤).
Biden had hoped to meet Xi at a recent G20 summit in Rome, but the Chinese leader has not traveled since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and instead, agreed to hold virtual talks by the end of the year.
Additional reporting by CNA
The combined effect of the monsoon, the outer rim of Typhoon Fengshen and a low-pressure system is expected to bring significant rainfall this week to various parts of the nation, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The heaviest rain is expected to occur today and tomorrow, with torrential rain expected in Keelung’s north coast, Yilan and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei City, the CWA said. Rivers could rise rapidly, and residents should stay away from riverbanks and avoid going to the mountains or engaging in water activities, it said. Scattered showers are expected today in central and
COOPERATION: Taiwan is aligning closely with US strategic objectives on various matters, including China’s rare earths restrictions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan could deal with China’s tightened export controls on rare earth metals by turning to “urban mining,” a researcher said yesterday. Rare earth metals, which are used in semiconductors and other electronic components, could be recovered from industrial or electronic waste to reduce reliance on imports, National Cheng Kung University Department of Resources Engineering professor Lee Cheng-han (李政翰) said. Despite their name, rare earth elements are not actually rare — their abundance in the Earth’s crust is relatively high, but they are dispersed, making extraction and refining energy-intensive and environmentally damaging, he said, adding that many countries have opted to
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
African swine fever was confirmed at a pig farm in Taichung, the Ministry of Agriculture said today, prompting a five-day nationwide ban on transporting and slaughtering pigs, and marking the loss of Taiwan’s status as the only Asian nation free of all three major swine diseases. The ministry held a news conference today confirming that the virus was detected at a farm in Wuci District (梧棲) yesterday evening. Authorities preemptively culled 195 pigs at the farm at about 3am and disinfected the entire site to prevent the disease from spreading, the ministry said. Authorities also set up a 3km-radius control zone
RSS