President Biden made a first telephone conversation with Chinese strongman Xi Jinping on the eve of the Chinese New Year. According to the White House, Biden has raised sensitive issues such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and the oppression of the Uyghurs.
Xi has informed Biden that things like Hong Kong and Taiwan are domestic affairs and that the US must respect China’s “core values.”
Biden has pledged to Xi that the US will cooperate with Beijing if it benefits the American people. Under Biden’s predecessor Trump, relations with China dropped to freezing: Trump accused China of unfair trade practices and increased tariffs on imported Chinese products. In his election campaign, Biden made it clear that he wants to pursue a hard course on this point.
Biden tweeted that he had wished the Chinese people a Happy New Year in the first place:
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