US, China plan Biden-Xi call in coming days

WASHINGTON

The United States and China are planning a call between President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping in the coming days, according to people familiar with the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity.

This call would follow their last conversation in April 2024 and their face-to-face meeting in Woodside, California in November 2023.

Following his talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that both sides stressed the need to maintain open lines of communication between Chinese and US leaders.

We also agree on the importance of communication between leaders. And so, I fully anticipate that and I will see that in the coming week and months, Blinken said in New York last week.

Ukraine

U.S. officials have said they seek opportunities, whenever possible, to find common ground with China, whether on issues such as fentanyl or on discussions about risk and security. of artificial intelligence. China's material support for Russia in the war against Ukraine is expected to be a key topic on the US agenda.

On Wednesday, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said the United States did not seek to contain or coerce China, but wanted to ensure continued dialogue and that competition between the two countries remained steady and stable. [does] no tendency towards conflict.

He also reiterated growing concern among the United States and its allies over Chinese companies supplying drones to Moscow, which have significantly boosted Russia's combat capabilities in its war against Ukraine.

What we have witnessed over the past two years is a rebuilding of the Russian army with a speed and determination that frankly surprises us. The level of Russian militarization, its ability to rebuild its tanks, its missiles, its drones [unmanned aerial vehicles]with the help of China, the support of North Korea, as well as Iran. This has been a matter of real concern, Campbell said in a moderated online conversation at the Washington-based think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

We now find ourselves in a situation where Russia is seeking to change Europe's territorial borders, and the fact that China is providing such substantial support for this is a real cause for concern, he said.

75th anniversary

This week, China celebrates 75 years of Communist Party rule. In Beijing, Xi reiterated his party's plans to reunify China with Taiwan.

“The wheel of history will not be stopped by any individual or force,” Xi said at a recent reception, without naming specific people or governments. He added that it is “where the greatest national interest lies” and “what the people desire.”

Taiwan has been self-governing since 1949, when Mao Zedong's Communists seized power in Beijing after defeating Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang (KMT) in a civil war, prompting Chiang and his followers to settle on the island. 'island.

In 2000, following Taiwan's second democratic presidential election, the KMT peacefully transferred power for the first time to the Democratic Progressive Party.

Even though the Chinese Communist Party has never governed Taiwan, it constantly insists that Taiwan must be subjugated to its rule, by force if necessary.

However, for decades the United States has made clear that its decision to replace diplomatic recognition of the official name of the Republic of China as Taiwan with the name Beijing or the People's Republic of China in 1979 was based on the hope that Taiwan's future would be determined by peaceful means, as provided for in the Taiwan Relations Act. Under this law, the United States provided weapons to support the defense of Taiwan.

US President Joe Biden approved $567 million in defense aid to Taiwan on Sunday, as China steps up its political and military pressure on the self-governing democracy.

In a statement, Biden announced that he had authorized Blinken to order the withdrawal of up to $567 million in defense articles and services from the Department of Defense, as well as military education and training, for provide assistance to Taiwan.

In Beijing, Chinese officials urged the United States to stop arming Taiwan in any way.

Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told reporters at a press briefing on Monday that no matter how much weapons the United States supplies to Taiwan, it will not shake the firm resolve of the Beijing government to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.