April 2, 2024 (EIRNS)—Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden spoke by phone on April 2, at Biden’s request. China has published a readout on the call. President Xi made reference to the positive interaction between the two leaders at last year’s APEC meeting in San Francisco, and urged further progress on achieving “the San Francisco vision.”
The Chinese leader gave three principles to guide relations between the two countries: First, peace must be valued. There should be no conflict and no confrontation. Second, stability must be prioritized. Third, credibility must be upheld, by turning commitments into action and making the San Francisco vision a reality. Taiwan is the reddest of China’s red lines; the nation will not tolerate actions toward Taiwanese independence. Furthermore, China has the right to develop, and if other countries try to hold it back, “China is not going to sit back and watch.”
According to the Chinese readout, Joe Biden said he considers the U.S.-China relationship “the most consequential relationship in the world,” reiterated that the U.S. does not seek a Cold War, does not support Taiwan independence, and follows the One China policy. The U.S. does not want to curtail China’s development. The U.S. will send the Secretaries of the Treasury and State to China to further the dialogue.
Other topics included Hong Kong, human rights, the South China Sea, Ukraine, the situation on the Korean Peninsula, and cooperation in such fields as counternarcotics and artificial intelligence.
The White House published its own report on the call. It reports that Biden emphasized freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, raised concerns about China’s support for Russia’s military industrial base, and said that, except as required to defend national security, U.S. technologies will be available for sale.
