- After a long period of radio silence, the USA and China want to resume communication between the armed forces of both countries.
- US President Joe Biden announced this after a meeting with China’s head of state Xi Jingping.
- Biden also insisted on maintaining “peace and stability” in Taiwan.
- It is the first meeting between the two heads of state in around a year.
Resuming communication is “critically important,” Biden said. Without communication, accidents and misunderstandings could occur. The next step is for the defense ministers of both countries to meet, according to press reports from the White House. There should also be operational discussions between high-ranking military leaders from both countries.
The US government has complained several times in recent months that the usual direct military communication with China is not working and that this could lead to dangerous misunderstandings and miscalculations. For example, Beijing had turned down requests for talks at the defense minister level.
The relationship between the US and China has long been very tense, including after economic sanctions against Beijing and political tensions surrounding Taiwan. The island republic, which is only separated from China by a strait, has had a democratic government for decades. However, China sees the country with more than 23 million inhabitants as part of its territory.
Differences over Taiwan remain
Biden has clearly spoken out in favor of maintaining “peace and stability” in Taiwan. A US government representative told accompanying media representatives that Biden had made it clear that the US had asked the Chinese to respect electoral processes in Taiwan.
According to the information, Chinese President Xi expressed ongoing concerns during the exchange with Biden and noted that the issue of Taiwan is the largest and potentially most dangerous conflict in US-China relations. Despite such reports from the US that China is planning military action in Taiwan, this is not the case, Xi said, according to the US official.
First meeting in about a year
The area around Taiwan is often the scene of military demonstrations of force. There are concerns that China could invade the island republic. Biden had promised Taiwan military support, including from US troops, in such an event. In the past, Beijing has always forbidden any “interference” by the USA in internal affairs. This fueled fears that the world could be facing the next major international conflict.
Biden and Xi’s meeting took place at a property south of San Francisco. It was expected in advance that they would talk about various controversial topics. The two heads of state had not seen each other in person or spoken to each other since the G20 summit in Bali in November 2022.