Xi-Biden summit: US and China stress need for status quo on Taiwan
- Chinese president warns of ‘drastic action’ in response to provocation from Taiwanese independence forces
- Biden stresses US opposition to unilateral efforts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait
16 Nov, 2021
aiwan was in sharp focus at the Xi-Biden summit, with both leaders stressing publicly for the first time the need to retain the status quo.
While Washington underlined its opposition to unilateral change to the status quo over the Taiwan Strait, Beijing also reiterated that it would pursue peaceful reunification with the self-ruled island “with the greatest effort”.
But in the 3½ hours of discussions, Chinese President Xi Jinping said “drastic action” could result if Taiwanese independence forces continued to provoke.
He said China was “patient” and sought peaceful reunification with sincerity, but “if Taiwanese independence separatist forces provoke or even break through the ‘red line’, we will have no alternative but to take drastic measures”.
The talks between Xi and US President Joe Biden took place early on Tuesday Beijing time after several months of rising tensions between Beijing and Washington over the island.
Xi said Taiwanese authorities had repeatedly sought to use the United States to seek independence and some people in the United States intended to use Taiwan to contain China.
“Such trends are extremely dangerous. It is just like playing with fire, and whoever plays with fire will get burned,” state news agency Xinhua quoted Xi as saying.
Xi Jinping and Joe Biden call for mutual respect and peaceful China-US coexistence
The White House said Biden stressed that the US remained committed to the one-China policy, guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, which requires the US to support the island’s efforts to defend itself.
But Biden also “strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait”.
A senior Biden administration official said that in the talks the US president was “quite direct about his concerns about some of Beijing’s behaviours that he believes is at odds with peace and stability across the strait”.
Washington has boosted its support for Taiwan over the past year, including backing efforts by the island to take part in the United Nations system.
In recent months, Biden has also said the US would defend the island if Beijing attacked, US lawmakers visited the island and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen confirmed that US troops were involved in military training on Taiwan.
Beijing, which views the island as a renegade province, denounced the moves as violations of its sovereignty.
The message of resolving the Taiwan issue was also included in a key resolution recently adopted by the Communist Party.
In the resolution released on Tuesday, the party repeated Beijing’s opposition to separatist acts by “Taiwan independent forces” and interference by external forces.
“[We must] firmly grasp the power to guide and initiate cross-strait relations in our hands,” the resolution said. “The timing and momentum of achieving national unification is entirely on our side.”
As the summit took place, Taiwanese media reported that the US would hold a US-Taiwan political-military dialogue and defence review talks this week to discuss regional security, cross-strait stability and American arms sales to the self-ruled island.
Taiwan Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang said the US’ commitment to the island was appreciated and Taiwan would work with the US and other like-minded countries to promote peace and prosperity in the region.
“Maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region is not only the common responsibility of all in the region, but also a common aspiration of all members of international society,” he said.
Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Renmin University in Beijing, said Biden did not walk away from his previous position on Taiwan, and Washington and Beijing remained divided on the issue.
But the summit probably gave each side a deeper understanding of the need to prevent military conflicts, Shi said.
Wang Jianmin, a Taiwan affairs specialist at Minnan Normal University in Fujian, said Xi’s remarks showed Beijing’s determination on reunification.
“That if the United States continues to strengthen the relationship with Taiwan, or Tsai Ing-wen continues to take proactive steps, an unexpected result will come out in the Taiwan Strait, which Biden has to carefully think about,” Wang said.
“The ‘drastic measures’ no doubt refer to non-peaceful means to resolve the Taiwan issue.”
Wang Kung-yi, director of the Taiwan International Strategic Study Society in Taipei, said the statement issued by the White House basically repeated what Washington had been telling Beijing.
“As Xi stressed the mainland’s resolve to achieve cross-strait unification, Biden repeated the US’ long-standing position of opposing unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” he said.
“Cross-strait tension is expected to continue to rise and if the two sides of the Taiwan Strait refrain from resuming dialogue, the situation will be worrying.”