Chinese President Xi Jinping told United States President Joe Biden that it was extremely important for both countries to uphold the “one China principle” and implement the three Sino-US joint communiques on the Taiwan issue, warning his counterpart that “these , who play with fire, will burn,” reports Reuters.
During the two-hour long phone conversation between the two leaders, Xi Jinping stressed that the country strongly opposes “Taiwan independence” and foreign interference in the country’s sovereignty. According to Chinese state media, Joe Bian said his country “hopes to maintain dialogue” through mutual understanding, stressing that Washington does not support Taiwan’s “independence”.
Beijing has issued escalating warnings of consequences if US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan, a move that would represent a dramatic, though not unprecedented, display of US support for the island, which faces growing Chinese military and economic threats.
And the White House said the conversation lasted more than two hours. US officials said there was a broad agenda, including discussion of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which China has not yet condemned.
The two leaders discussed the Ukrainian crisis, with Xi Jinping confirming China’s principled position on the matter.
According to him, viewing China as a “strategic competitor” and defining it as a “strategic rival” is a wrong assessment of the relationship between the US and China, which can mislead the citizens of both countries, as well as the international community.
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