US President Joe Biden on Thursday reiterated to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) Washington’s opposition to unilaterally changing the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait.
“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 said in a statement released after a two-hour and 17-minute telephone call between Biden and Xi.
It was the fifth time the two spoke with each other since Biden took office in January last year, the White House said.
Photo: Reuters
The call followed the presidents’ March 18 conversation and a series of talks between high-level US and Chinese officials, it added.
Thursday’s call covered a range of issues important to their bilateral relationship and other regional and global issues, while the two presidents tasked their teams to continue following up on the talks, in particular to address climate change and health security, the White House said.
In a news briefing after the statement was released, a senior US official described the discussion on Taiwan as “direct” and “honest.”
The official said Biden reaffirmed to Xi the US’ commitment to its “one China” policy based on the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three Joint Communiques and the “six assurances.”
Both leaders said that the US and China have differences on the Taiwan issue and that Washington and Beijing have managed those differences for more than 40 years, the official said.
“Keeping an open line of communication on this issue is essential to doing so,” the official told reporters.
Biden and Xi also told aides to plan an in-person meeting, a US official said.
If confirmed, it would be their first face-to-face exchange since Biden became president, and a sign that Xi plans to return to in-person diplomacy after not leaving China for more than two years due to COVID-19 controls.
A Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement did not mention any such meeting, saying only that the leaders agreed to keep up communications.
Xi was quoted in a report by China’s official Xinhua news agency as telling Biden that Beijing firmly opposed “Taiwan independence” and external interference, and would never allow any room for “Taiwan independence” forces in whatever form.
Xi urged the US to follow the Three Joint Communiques and Beijing’s “one China” principle, which he said “is the political foundation for China-US relations,” Xinhua said.
In Taipei, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) yesterday expressed gratitude for the US’ adamant support for Taiwan’s security.
The US has briefed Taiwan about the conversation, Ou said, adding that Taipei is grateful for Biden’s assurances since he took office that ties between Taiwan and the US are “rock solid.”
Taiwan would continue to deepen a security partnership between Taipei and Washington, while jointly safeguarding the international order and bolstering security across the Taiwan Strait, as well as maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, Ou added.
The ministry said that it would continue to deepen its close security partnership with the US.
Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) yesterday said the office thanked the Biden administration for reiterating its opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo,” including actions that would destroy peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
“Taiwan is a member of international and regional communities, and will continue to work closely with like-minded nations toward developing a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region,” he said. “This is the hope of the international community, and Taiwan’s shared responsibility in the region.”
The government hopes that China will also shoulder its share of that responsibility, he added.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg and Lee Hsin-fang
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