Nancy Pelosis trip to Taiwan not a good idea right now, says Biden | Biden Administration

Joe Biden has warned of the announced trip to Taiwan next month by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying the US military has deemed it not a good idea at this time.

The Financial Times reported earlier this week that Pelosi would lead a delegation to Taiwan in August to show support for the democratically-ruled island, which Beijing says is a breakaway province. The trip was originally scheduled for April but was postponed due to Pelosi testing positive for Covid at the time.

Well, I think the military thinks it’s not a good idea right now, Biden said Wednesday of the reported trip, which Beijing said would further damage bilateral relations. But I don’t know what his status is, Biden added.

Bidens’ comments came as the US president is due to hold talks with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, by the end of the month. The call will be the two leaders first in four months. Analysts said Biden and Xi will discuss issues ranging from Taiwan to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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On Wednesday, Central Intelligence Agencies Director Bill Burns said China was troubled by Russia’s five-month war in Ukraine, which he called a strategic failure for Vladimir Putin because he had hoped overthrow the Kyiv government within five months. the week.

Speaking to the Aspen Security Forum In Colorado, Burns played down speculation that Xi might move on Taiwan after a key Communist Party meeting later this year, but added: I would not underestimate President Xi’s determination to assert China’s control over Autonomous Taiwan.

Burns said: Our feeling is that it probably affects less whether Chinese leaders might choose in a few years to use force to control Taiwan, but how and when they would.

He said that China would have watched from Ukraine that you don’t win quick and decisive victories with disappointing strength.

I suspect the lesson the Chinese leadership and military are learning is that you have to amass overwhelming force if you’re considering this in the future.

China has also likely learned that it needs to control the information space and do everything possible to protect its economy from the potential for sanctions, he added.

Burns, consistent with previous US assessments, said the United States did not believe Beijing was offering military support to Russia despite the rhetorical support. He said China had stepped up its purchases of Russian energy, but seemed cautious not to incur Western sanctions.

China considers autonomous Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. In 1949, defeated Chinese nationalists fled to Taiwan after losing the civil war on the mainland. The island has since grown into a vibrant democracy and a leading technological powerhouse.

Speaking at the same forum in the Rocky Mountains, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang said Beijing still prefers peaceful reunification. But he accused the United States of backing pro-independence forces in Taiwan, where President Tsai Ing-wen has asserted the islands’ separate identity.

Qin said: No conflict or war is the biggest consensus between China and the United States. But the United States is digging into and blurring its stated policy of only recognizing Beijing, he said, adding: Only by strictly adhering to the one-China policy, only by uniting to coerce and oppose Taiwan independence, can we have a peaceful reunification.

Under a law passed by Congress when Washington transferred recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, the United States is required to supply weapons to Taiwan for self-defense.

Biden said in May that the United States was prepared to use force to defend Taiwan against a Chinese attack, appearing to resolve long-standing US ambiguity over whether it would engage militarily, although the White House quickly backed down on his comments.