Taiwan is the main problem for Xi Jinping-Joe Biden talks, Chinese observers say
- Foreign Minister Wang Yi said ‘political preparations’ were needed for the next phase of exchanges, in a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken
- According to observers he was mostly referring to controlling tensions over Taiwan to create the conditions for the two leaders to meet
“The two sides must earnestly implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state, and make political preparations and provide necessary conditions for the next phase of exchanges,” Wang said, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.
In their meeting, Blinken “underscored the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to responsibly manage the competition between the United States and the People’s Republic of China”, according to a statement from the US State Department.
According to observers, Wang’s reference to “political preparations” was mostly about controlling tensions over Taiwan to create the conditions needed for the two leaders to meet – a summit that is expected to happen before the end of the year. Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory and has been angered as Washington moves closer to the self-ruled island.
“It basically means that if the US will not make positive concessions on the Taiwan issue, then they can forget about the summit at the end of the year,” Liu Weidong, a US affairs specialist with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said of Wang’s remarks.
“The situation across the Taiwan Strait has been escalating recently, with the US constantly pushing the boundaries to put pressure on China,” he added.
Washington has long had a policy of “strategic ambiguity” in relation to Taiwan – meaning it does not explicitly say if the US would take military action if the island came under attack from mainland China.
In the talks with Wang on Sunday, Blinken made clear that Washington had not changed its one-China policy regarding Taiwan, Reuters reported, citing a State Department official.
Shi Yinhong, an international affairs expert with Renmin University, said Beijing wanted a de-escalation of tensions not just over Taiwan, but in other areas too, and that the US should “step on the brakes” to avoid a serious impact on relations with China.
“Our trade representative has said that we would consider additional tariffs reductions,” she was quoted as saying. “We want to see China meet their commitments they made under phase one, but stabilising and perhaps eventually lowering some tariffs in a reciprocal way could be a desirable outcome.”