US President Joe Biden on Thursday reiterated to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) Washington’s opposition to unilaterally changing the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait.
“On Taiwan, President Biden underscored that the United States policy has not changed and that the United States strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” the White House said in a statement released after a two-hour and 17-minute telephone call between Biden and Xi.
It was the fifth time the two spoke with each other since Biden took office in January last year, the White House said.
Photo: Reuters
The call followed the presidents’ March 18 conversation and a series of talks between high-level US and Chinese officials, it added.
Thursday’s call covered a range of issues important to their bilateral relationship and other regional and global issues, while the two presidents tasked their teams to continue following up on the talks, in particular to address climate change and health security, the White House said.
In a news briefing after the statement was released, a senior US official described the discussion on Taiwan as “direct” and “honest.”
The official said Biden reaffirmed to Xi the US’ commitment to its “one China” policy based on the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three Joint Communiques and the “six assurances.”
Both leaders said that the US and China have differences on the Taiwan issue and that Washington and Beijing have managed those differences for more than 40 years, the official said.
“Keeping an open line of communication on this issue is essential to doing so,” the official told reporters.
Biden and Xi also told aides to plan an in-person meeting, a US official said.
If confirmed, it would be their first face-to-face exchange since Biden became president, and a sign that Xi plans to return to in-person diplomacy after not leaving China for more than two years due to COVID-19 controls.
A Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement did not mention any such meeting, saying only that the leaders agreed to keep up communications.
Xi was quoted in a report by China’s official Xinhua news agency as telling Biden that Beijing firmly opposed “Taiwan independence” and external interference, and would never allow any room for “Taiwan independence” forces in whatever form.
Xi urged the US to follow the Three Joint Communiques and Beijing’s “one China” principle, which he said “is the political foundation for China-US relations,” Xinhua said.
In Taipei, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) yesterday expressed gratitude for the US’ adamant support for Taiwan’s security.
The US has briefed Taiwan about the conversation, Ou said, adding that Taipei is grateful for Biden’s assurances since he took office that ties between Taiwan and the US are “rock solid.”
Taiwan would continue to deepen a security partnership between Taipei and Washington, while jointly safeguarding the international order and bolstering security across the Taiwan Strait, as well as maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, Ou added.
The ministry said that it would continue to deepen its close security partnership with the US.
Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) yesterday said the office thanked the Biden administration for reiterating its opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo,” including actions that would destroy peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
“Taiwan is a member of international and regional communities, and will continue to work closely with like-minded nations toward developing a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region,” he said. “This is the hope of the international community, and Taiwan’s shared responsibility in the region.”
The government hopes that China will also shoulder its share of that responsibility, he added.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg and Lee Hsin-fang
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
‘DANGEROUS GAME’: Legislative Yuan budget cuts have already become a point of discussion for Democrats and Republicans in Washington, Elbridge Colby said Taiwan’s fall to China “would be a disaster for American interests” and Taipei must raise defense spending to deter Beijing, US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead Pentagon policy, Elbridge Colby, said on Tuesday during his US Senate confirmation hearing. The nominee for US undersecretary of defense for policy told the Armed Services Committee that Washington needs to motivate Taiwan to avoid a conflict with China and that he is “profoundly disturbed” about its perceived reluctance to raise defense spending closer to 10 percent of GDP. Colby, a China hawk who also served in the Pentagon in Trump’s first team,
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
INVESTMENT WATCH: The US activity would not affect the firm’s investment in Taiwan, where 11 production lines would likely be completed this year, C.C. Wei said Investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in the US should not be a cause for concern, but rather seen as the moment that the company and Taiwan stepped into the global spotlight, President William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday alongside TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家). Wei and US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday announced plans to invest US$100 billion in the US to build three advanced foundries, two packaging plants, and a research and development center, after Trump threatened to slap tariffs on chips made
RSS