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 that aimed to show a return to regular leader-to-leader talks between the two countries.
The call, described by the White House as “open and productive,” was the first conversation between the leaders since their November summit in California, which resulted in renewed relations between their militaries and a promise of increased cooperation in stopping the flow of deadly fentanyl and its precursors from China.
Xi told Biden that the two countries should stick to the principle of “no clash, no confrontation” as one of the guidelines for this year.
“We should prioritize stability, avoid causing problems, not cross boundaries, and 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 engagements 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 urged for ongoing interactions at all government levels, believing it is crucial to prevent competition between the two large economies and nuclear-armed powers from escalating to direct conflict. While in-person summits occur about once a year, officials said, both Washington and Beijing recognize the importance of more frequent interactions between the leaders.
The two leaders discussed Taiwan ahead of the upcoming inauguration of Lai Ching-te, the president-elect of the island, who has promised to protect its informal independence from China and further align it with other democratic countries. Biden reaffirmed the United States’ long-standing “One China” policy and restated that the U.S. opposes any coercive measures to bring Taiwan under Beijing’s control. China regards Taiwan as a domestic issue and has strongly objected to U.S. support for the island.
Taiwan is still the “first red line not to be crossed,” Xi told Biden, and stressed that Beijing will not tolerate separatist activities by Taiwan’s independence forces as well as “foreign 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 hinder the Philippines, which the U.S. is obligated by treaty to defend, from resupplying 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 top of the agenda.
In the call with Xi, Biden pushed 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 commitment was made at the leaders’ summit held in Woodside, California, last year on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.
During the November summit, Biden and Xi also agreed that their governments would have official discussions on the potential benefits and dangers of advanced artificial intelligence, which are scheduled to happen in the next few weeks. The pair briefly talked about the 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, which calls for global protections around the emerging technology.
In the call, Biden reaffirmed warnings to Xi about not interfering in the 2024 elections in the U.S. and about continuing malicious cyberattacks against important American infrastructure, according to a senior U.S. administration official who shared details of the call anonymously.
He also expressed concerns about human rights in China, including the new restrictive national security law in Hong Kong and the treatment of minority groups, as well as the situation of Americans detained in or prevented from leaving China.
The Democratic president also urged China on its defense relationship with Russia, which is trying to rebuild its industrial base as it continues with its invasion of Ukraine. He also called on Beijing to use its influence over North Korea to control the isolated and unpredictable nuclear power.
As the leaders of the world’s two largest economies, Biden also raised concerns with Xi about China’s “unfair economic practices,” the official said, and restated that the U.S. would take measures to protect its security and economic interests, including by continuing to restrict the transfer of some advanced technology to China.
Xi complained that the U.S. has taken more actions to suppress China’s economy, trade and technology in the past several months, and that the list of sanctioned Chinese companies has become longer, which is “not reducing risks but creating risks,” according to the broadcaster.
The call happened before Yellen’s visit to Guangzhou and Beijing for a week of bilateral meetings on the subject with finance leaders from the world’s second largest economy — including 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 American workers and businesses to ensure they are treated fairly, including by pressing Chinese counterparts on unfair trade practices.”
It follows Xi’s meeting in Beijing with U.S. business leaders last week, when he emphasized the mutually beneficial economic ties between the two countries and urged people-to-people exchange to maintain the relationship.
Xi told the Americans that the two countries have maintained communication and “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.
Before her trip to China, Yellen last week said that Beijing is flooding the market with green energy that “distorts global prices.” She said she intends to share her beliefs with her counterparts that Beijing’s increased production of solar energy, electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries poses risks to productivity and growth to the global economy.
U.S. lawmakers are once again feeling worried about Chinese ownership of the popular social media app TikTok. This concern has led to new legislation that would prohibit TikTok if its China-based owner ByteDance does not sell its ownership in the platform within six months of the bill being passed.
As the head of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which examines 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.
In the meantime, China's leaders have set a target of 5% economic growth for this year despite a slowdown worsened by problems in the property sector and the lasting effects of strict anti-virus measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. These measures disrupted travel, logistics, manufacturing, and other industries.
China is the leading player in batteries for electric cars and has a rapidly growing car industry that could compete with the world's established car manufacturers as it expands globally.
Last year, the U.S. revealed plans to restrict electric vehicle buyers from claiming tax credits if they buy cars with battery materials from China and other countries considered unfriendly to the United States. Separately, the Department of Commerce began investigating the potential national security risks posed by Chinese car exports to the U.S.
