WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed Taiwan, artificial intelligence and security issues on Tuesday in a call aimed at signaling a return to regular leader-to-leader dialogue between the two powers.
The call, which the White House described as “candid and constructive,” was the first between the leaders since their November summit in California forged renewed ties between the two nations’ militaries and a pledge of closer cooperation on countering of the flow of deadly fentanyl and its precursors from China.
Xi told Biden that the two countries should adhere to the principle of “no clash, no confrontation” as one of the principles for this year.
“We should prioritize stability, not provoke trouble, not cross borders, but maintain the overall stability of China-US relations,” Xi said, according to state broadcaster China Central Television.
The roughly 105-minute phone call kicks off several weeks of high-level talks between the two countries, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen set to travel to China on Thursday and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to follow in the coming weeks.
Biden has pushed for sustained interactions at all levels of government, believing it is crucial to prevent competition between the two massive economies and nuclear-armed powers from escalating into direct conflict. While in-person summits may occur once a year, officials say, both Washington and Beijing recognize the value of more frequent meetings between the leaders.
The two leaders discussed Taiwan ahead of the inauguration next month of Lai Ching-te, the island’s president-elect, who has vowed to safeguard its de facto independence from China and further align the country with other democracies. Biden reaffirmed the United States’ long-standing “One China” policy and reiterated that the US opposes any coercive means to bring Taiwan under Beijing’s control. China views Taiwan as a domestic matter and has strongly protested US support for the island.
Taiwan remains the “first red line that must not be crossed,” Xi told Biden, stressing that Beijing will not tolerate separatist activities by Taiwan’s independence forces, as well as “indulgence and outside support,” hinting at Washington’s support for the island.
Biden also raised concerns about Chinese operations in the South China Sea, including last month’s efforts to stop the Philippines, which the US is required to defend under the treaty, from supplying its troops on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal.
Next week, Biden will meet Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and received Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House for a joint summit where China’s influence in the region would be at the top of the agenda.
Biden, in the call with Xi, urged China to do more to fulfill its promises to stem the flow of illicit narcotics and schedule additional precursor chemicals to prevent their exports. The pledge was made at the Leaders’ Summit held last year in Woodside, California on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Meeting.
At the November summit, Biden and Xi also agreed that their governments would hold formal talks on the promises and risks of advanced artificial intelligence, which will take place in the coming weeks. The pair spoke about the issue on Tuesday, just two weeks after China and the US joined more than 120 other countries in backing a resolution at the United Nations calling for global safeguards around the emerging technology.
In the call, Biden amplified warnings to Xi against meddling in the 2024 US elections and against continued malicious cyber attacks on critical US infrastructure.
He also expressed concerns about human rights in China, including Hong Kong’s new restrictive national security law and the treatment of minority groups, and raised the plight of Americans detained in China or prevented from leaving.
The Democratic president also pressed China over its defense relationship with Russia, which is trying to rebuild its industrial base as the country continues its invasion of Ukraine. And he called on Beijing to exert its influence on North Korea to rein in its isolated and erratic nuclear power.
As leaders of the world’s two largest economies, Biden also raised concerns with Xi about China’s “unfair economic practices,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, reiterating that the U.S. would take steps to protect its security and economic interests including by continuing to restrict the transfer of certain advanced technologies to China.
Xi complained that the US has taken more measures in recent months to suppress China’s economy, trade and technology and that the list of sanctioned Chinese companies has been growing, which “does not reduce risks but rather creates risks,” it said report. broadcaster.
Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, said the call “reflects the mutual desire to keep the relationship stable” as the men reiterated their long-standing positions on issues of concern.
The call came ahead of Yellen’s visit to Guangzhou and Beijing for a week of bilateral meetings on the subject with financial leaders from the world’s second-largest economy – including Vice Prime Minister He Lifeng, Chinese Central Bank Governor Pan Gongsheng, former Vice Premier Liu He, US companies and local leaders.
An advisory for the upcoming trip said Yellen “will advocate that American workers and companies ensure they are treated fairly, including by calling out Chinese counterparts for unfair trade practices.”
It follows Xi’s meeting in Beijing with US business leaders last week, when he emphasized the mutually beneficial economic ties between the two countries and urged people-to-people exchanges to maintain the relationship.
Xi told Americans that the two countries have remained communicative and “made progress” on trade, anti-narcotics and climate change since he met Biden in November. Last week’s high-profile meeting was seen as Beijing’s attempt to stabilize bilateral ties.
Ahead of her trip to China, Yellen said last week that Beijing is flooding the market with green energy that is “distorting global prices.” She said she plans to share her belief with her colleagues that Beijing’s increased production of solar energy, electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries poses risks to productivity and growth of the global economy.
US lawmakers’ renewed fears over Chinese ownership of popular social media app TikTok have led to new legislation that would ban TikTok if its China-based owner ByteDance does not sell its shares in the platform within six months of the bill’s enactment . Kirby said Biden “reiterated our concerns about TikTok’s ownership” to Xi during their phone call.
As chairman of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, which reviews foreign ownership of companies in the US, Yellen has plenty of leeway to determine how the company can continue to operate in the US.
Meanwhile, Chinese leaders have set a target of 5% economic growth this year, despite a slowdown exacerbated by real estate sector woes and the lingering effects of strict anti-virus measures during the COVID-19 pandemic that have hit travel, disrupted logistics, production and other activities. industries.
China is the dominant player in electric vehicle batteries and has a fast-growing auto industry that could challenge the world’s established automakers if it goes global.
The U.S. last year outlined plans to restrict EV buyers from claiming tax breaks if they buy cars that contain battery materials from China and other countries considered hostile to the United States. In addition, the Commerce Department has launched an investigation into the potential national security risks posed by Chinese auto exports to the US