The president of China, Xi Jinping, used the virtual summit conference, held with U.S. President Joe Biden to warn that the United States support for Taiwan’s independence would be “like playing with fire.”
Xi Jinping told Joe Biden that China was fully prepared with “decisive measures” if Taiwan attempted to move towards territory that crossed China’s red lines, during the virtual conference.
He continued warning as he said, supporting Taiwanese independence will be, “like playing with fire” and “those who play with fire will get burned”.
In response to his words, Joe Biden said, “The U.S. remained committed to the one-China policy that recognizes only one sovereign Chinese state.”
The United States enjoys formal ties with China and has pledged to help it to defend against Taiwan in the event of war.
As per the Global Times, Mr. Xi holds recent tensions accountable for “repeated attempts by the Taiwan authorities to look for U.S. support for their independence agenda as well as the intention of some Americans to use Taiwan to contain China”.
It said, “Such moves are extremely dangerous, just like playing with fire. Whoever plays with fire will get burned”
The statement which came from the White House said, “Mr. Biden strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait”.
Despite the ongoing tensions on the Taiwan matter, both the leaders warmly greeted each other and began the conference. In fact, President Xi said that he was glad to talk with his “old friend” Joe Biden.
Both the leaders had “always communicated with one another very honestly and candidly,” said Joe Biden.” We never walk away wondering what the other man is thinking,” he added.
Chinese president during the virtual summit emphasized improving “communication” between the two countries and that they need to face challenges “together.”
“Humanity lives in a global village, and we face multiple challenges together. China and the U.S. need to increase communication and co-operation” Mr. Xi said.
What did Joe Biden want to achieve during the conference? The U.S. president aimed to form a regular dialogue between the officials of both nations on a range of current issues. However, it is still yet to identify how far the officials had gone to establish that.