by Steve Holland, Michael Martina and Ryan Woo
WASHINGTON/BEIJING, July 28 (Reuters) – Joe Biden and Xi Jinping had a telephone conversation on Thursday during which the Chinese president warned his American counterpart not to “play with fire” with Taiwan, in the context of growing concerns over the democratic island that Beijing sees as a renegade province.
In what was the fifth phone call between the two leaders since Joe Biden took over the White House in January 2021, Xi Jinping said the United States must abide by the “one China principle”, he said. reported the official Chinese press.
Xi Jinping stressed that Beijing firmly opposes Taiwan independence and interference by external powers, she added.
China has multiplied warnings, increasingly firm, about the possible visit to Taiwan of the speaker of the American House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, executive of the Democratic party from which Joe Biden comes.
Such a visit would not be unprecedented, but it would highlight Washington’s support for Taipei, which denounces growing military and economic threats from Beijing.
“Those who play with fire can only get burned,” Xi Jinping told Joe Biden, according to comments reported by the official Chinese press. Beijing “hopes the American camp can see this clearly,” the Chinese leader added.
The White House said the interview lasted more than two hours. US officials had previously indicated that a range of topics would be discussed, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which China has not condemned.
In the eyes of American representatives, this telephone exchange between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping was above all to make it possible to once again discuss the economic rivalry between the two greatest world powers.
“It’s about keeping the lines of communication open with the president of China, one of the most important bilateral relationships, not just for this region, but across the world, because it touches on so many” topics, said ahead of the interview with the spokesman for the White House National Security Council.
A source had said that Joe Biden also wanted to address climate and economic competition issues, as well as the idea of capping the price of Russian oil in order to sanction Moscow for the offensive in Ukraine.
During his previous meeting with Xi Jinping, last March, the American president had warned Beijing of “consequences” in the event of material support given to Moscow for the war in Ukraine. The elements available to the American administration indicate that this “red line” has not been crossed.
The last trip by a Speaker of the US House of Representatives to Taiwan was in 1997.
China does not rule out the use of force to bring the island back into its fold. (Reporting Michael Martina, Trevor Hunnicutt, David Brunnstrom and Jarrett Renshaw in Washington, with Martin Quin Pollard in Beijing; French version Charlotte Lavin and Jean Terzian, editing by Sophie Louet and Bertrand Boucey)