Biden and Xi's two-hour phone call sets the tone for future China-US relations
Despite discussing critical issues such as Taiwan and trade, Xi Jinping and Joe Biden emphasised the importance of cooperation and managing differences.
The official Chinese readout of the phone call between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden on Tuesday made it a point to mention that it was arranged at Washington’s request.
Notwithstanding the minor but noticeable politics of disclosing 'who-called-who' to melt the diplomatic ice, the two leaders had a lot to talk about given that they did so for about two hours.
The leaders had realised – and correctly so – the need to dial down the sense of conflict and bitter competition that describes the fraught bilateral ties between the top two world powers.
It was their first direct contact since Biden and Xi met at the Woodside Summit in California last November.
Biden and Xi outlined to each other the primary nagging problems plaguing DC-Beijing ties but emphasised the need, and the desire, to cooperate and manage differences through high-level engagement: A desire which seems to be missing between New Delhi and Beijing, armed and standing on either side of a disputed border, facing the worst diplomatic chill in decades.
The issues
Make no mistake, both Biden and Xi laid bare existing problems on the table with the Chinese leader lacing it with phrases like “the first red line” and that China “is not going to sit on its hands” about what it sees as Washington’s unacceptable interference in its internal affairs over Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy claimed by China as its territory.
Xi, in fact, said that ties between China and the US were beginning to stabilise but curbed the enthusiasm with a warning that they could "slide into conflict or confrontation”.
Differences over Taiwan between the two countries expectedly emerged as a key point of discussion.
“President Biden emphasised the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait…,” the White House readout said, coupling it with the US’ focus on “…the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea”.
Like always, Xi was strident on Taiwan.
“President Xi stressed that the Taiwan question is the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations. In the face of ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist activities and external encouragement and support for them, China is not going to sit on its hands,” the official Chinese news agency, Xinhua, quoted the Chinese leader as saying.
“He urged the US side to translate President Biden's commitment of not supporting ‘Taiwan independence’ into concrete actions,” the readout further stated.
Drawing lines in the sand on trade and tech
The two leaders spoke at length on trade, technology and business – the tense threads that bind the two largest economies and define their intense rivalry; a rivalry that also comprises the fight for global diplomatic influence and frequent shows of military strength.
Biden, as per the US readout, “raised continued concerns about the People's Republic of China’s (PRC) unfair trade policies and non-market economic practices, which harm American workers and families”.
On tech, Biden warned Xi that Washington would “…continue to take necessary actions to prevent advanced US technologies from being used to undermine our national security, without unduly limiting trade and investment”.
Xi blew off some steam too.
“The US side has adopted a string of measures to suppress China's trade and technology development and is adding more and more Chinese entities to its sanction lists. This is not ‘de-risking,’ but creating risks,” he said.
China is ready for beneficial cooperation, he said, if the US is looking for it too “…but if it is adamant on containing China's hi-tech development and depriving China of its legitimate right to development, China is not going to sit back and watch”.
The Chinese readout remained silent on what Xi said about Beijing continuing to help Russia in the Ukraine invasion and ongoing war.
Biden, however, told him about "the US’ concerns over the PRC’s support for Russia’s defence industrial base and its impact on European and transatlantic security”.
The road ahead
In August 2022, China launched a diplomatic offensive against the US, days after House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi became the highest-ranking US politician to visit Taiwan since 1997. Eight bilateral mechanisms including military and climate change talks were suspended, as a form of "countermeasures" after Pelosi visited Taiwan.
Despite sharp differences remaining, there’s a sense of momentum in ties since then, which were kickstarted at the last November summit.
Ahead of Tuesday’s phone call, a US official announced that the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will soon visit China.
“We will continue to advance our interests through cabinet-level diplomacy, including visits to the PRC by Secretary of the Treasury Yellen in the coming days and Secretary of State Blinken in the coming weeks,” the news agency, AFP, quoted the US official said.
Only last week, Xi met 20 leading US business leaders at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The high-level interaction sent two signals: The first was directed at the American business community, indicating that Beijing wants strong trade and commerce ties with the US to continue; and, two, the meeting sent a signal of reassurance to foreign investors that they are welcome in China.
Among those who were part of the 20-strong delegation, according to Reuters, were Stephen Schwarzman, co-founder and CEO of private equity firm Blackstone, Raj Subramaniam, head of American delivery giant FedEx, and Cristiano Amon, the boss of chips manufacturer, Qualcomm.
As for the upcoming visits of top US diplomats, China welcomed it. "The Chinese side welcomed visits to China by Treasury Secretary Yellen and Secretary of State Blinken in the near future," a statement by the Chinese embassy read. The countries seem to be moving towards a future that should be more business as usual rather than confrontational.
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