By ZEKE MILLER, DIDI TANG and FATIMA HUSSEIN (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed Taiwan, artificial intelligence, and security matters on Tuesday in a call aimed at showing a return to regular leader-to-leader talks between the two nations.
The conversation, described by the White House as “frank and productive,” was the first discussion between the leaders since their November summit in California resulted in renewed connections between the two countries’ militaries and a commitment to increased cooperation on stopping the spread of deadly fentanyl and its precursors from China.
Xi informed Biden that the two countries should stick to the principle of “no clash, no confrontation” as one of the key principles for this year.
“We should prioritize stability, not stir up trouble, not cross boundaries, but maintain the overall stability of China-U.S. relations,” Xi said, according to China Central Television, the state broadcaster.
The call marks the beginning of several weeks of high-level interactions between the two countries, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen set to visit China on Thursday and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to follow in the weeks ahead.
Biden has pushed for ongoing interactions at all levels of government, believing it is crucial to prevent competition between the two major economies and nuclear-armed powers from escalating to direct conflict. While face-to-face summits occur about once a year, officials said, both Washington and Beijing acknowledge the importance of more frequent interactions between the leaders.
The two leaders discussed Taiwan ahead of next month’s inauguration of Lai Ching-te, the island’s president-elect, who has promised to protect its de-facto independence from China and further align it with other democracies. Biden reaffirmed the United States’ longstanding “One China” policy and reiterated that the U.S. opposes any coercive means to bring Taiwan under Beijing’s control. China views Taiwan as a domestic matter and has strongly objected to U.S. support for the island.
Taiwan remains the “first red line not to be crossed,” Xi told Biden, and emphasized that Beijing will not tolerate separatist activities by Taiwan’s independence forces as well as “external indulgence and support,” which referred to Washington’s support for the island.
Biden also expressed worries about China’s actions in the South China Sea, including attempts last month to block the Philippines, which the U.S. is treaty-bound to defend, from replenishing its forces on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal.
Next week, Biden will host Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House for a joint summit where China’s influence in the region was set to be a major topic of discussion.
Biden, in the call with Xi, urged China to do more to fulfill its commitments to stop the flow of illegal drugs and to schedule additional precursor chemicals to prevent their export. The promise was made at the leaders’ summit held in Woodside, California, last year on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.
During the November summit, Biden and Xi agreed to have formal discussions about the potential benefits and dangers of advanced artificial intelligence. These talks are scheduled to occur in the next few weeks. They briefly discussed this issue on Tuesday, just two weeks after China and the U.S. joined over 120 other nations in supporting a resolution at the United Nations that calls for global protections around this emerging technology.
In the call, Biden reiterated warnings to Xi about not interfering in the 2024 U.S. elections and not conducting harmful cyberattacks on critical American infrastructure. This information was provided by a senior U.S. administration official who shared details of the call on the condition of anonymity.
He also brought up concerns regarding human rights in China, such as Hong Kong’s new strict national security law and how minority groups are treated. He also mentioned the situation of Americans who are detained in China or not allowed to leave.
The Democratic president also brought up China's defense relationship with Russia, as Russia is trying to rebuild its industrial base while continuing its invasion of Ukraine. He also urged Beijing to use its influence over North Korea to control the isolated and unpredictable nuclear power.
As the leaders of the two largest economies in the world, Biden raised issues with Xi about China's unfair economic practices and reiterated that the U.S. will take action to protect its security and economic interests, including by continuing to restrict the transfer of certain advanced technology to China.
Xi expressed his dissatisfaction with the increasing measures taken by the U.S. to limit China's economy, trade, and technology over the past few months, and how the list of sanctioned Chinese companies has grown longer. He stated that this is not reducing risk but instead creating more risks.
This call took place before Yellen's trip to Guangzhou and Beijing for a series of meetings with finance leaders from the world’s second largest economy, as well as with Vice Premier He Lifeng, Chinese Central Bank Gov. Pan Gongsheng, former Vice Premier Liu He, American businesses, and local leaders.
An advisory for the upcoming trip states that Yellen will advocate for fair treatment of American workers and businesses, including by pressing Chinese counterparts on unfair trade practices.
This follows Xi’s meeting in Beijing with U.S. business leaders, during which he emphasized the mutually beneficial economic relationship between the two countries and encouraged people-to-people exchange to maintain the relationship.
Xi informed the Americans that the two countries have been in communication and have made progress on issues such as trade, anti-narcotics, and climate change since he met with Biden in November. Last week’s high-profile meeting was seen as Beijing’s effort to stabilize bilateral relations.
Prior to her trip to China, Yellen stated that Beijing is releasing a large amount of green energy into the market, which distorts global prices. She intends to share her belief with her counterparts that Beijing’s increased production of solar energy, electric vehicles, and lithium-ion batteries poses risks to global productivity and economic growth.
U.S. lawmakers are feeling worried again about Chinese ownership of the popular social media app TikTok. This has led to new legislation that could ban TikTok if its Chinese owner ByteDance doesn’t sell its stakes in the platform within six months of the bill’s enactment.
As the head of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which evaluates foreign ownership of companies in the U.S., Yellen has a lot of power to decide how the company could continue operating in the U.S.
At the same time, China’s leaders have set a target of 5% economic growth this year despite a slowdown made worse by problems in the property sector and the lasting effects of strict anti-virus measures during the COVID-19 pandemic that disrupted travel, logistics, manufacturing and other industries.
China is the main player in batteries for electric vehicles and has a quickly growing auto industry that could rival the world’s established carmakers as it expands globally.
Last year, the U.S. revealed plans to restrict EV buyers from getting tax credits if they buy cars with battery materials from China and other countries seen as unfriendly to the United States. Separately, the Department of Commerce started an investigation into the potential national security risks posed by Chinese car exports to the U.S.
