UNITED STATES: Sounding a warning alarm, Chinese President Xi Jinping highlighted that the US’s efforts to intervene in the Taiwan question would escalate if Biden refused to stay out of it. Xi told Biden, “The fact and status quo that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to same China.”
China refuses to allow for any room for Taiwanese “independent forces” and firmly opposes any separatist moves toward it. In a statement, the White House said, “On Taiwan, President Biden emphasised that US policy has not changed, and that the US strongly opposes unilateral efforts to alter the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
This marks a crucial moment in the legacy of the two nations at loggerheads with each other over issues of economic policy, global health, and especially human rights, since China refused to comment, let alone condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Outrightly blaming the US for the deteriorating relations between the two nations, Zhao Lijan, a China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, told reporters, “If the United States persists in going its own way and challenging China’s bottom line, it will undoubtedly face forceful responses.”
“The President wants to make sure that the lines of communication with President Xi remain open because they need to,” John Kirby, a US National Security spokesperson, told reporters at the White House briefing. He acknowledged that specific issues will be resolved between the two countries, while others will cause “friction and tension.”
“This is one of the most consequential bilateral relationships in the world today,” Kirby added, “with ramifications far beyond both individual countries.”
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