A second Tuesday morning meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping saw the two countries communicate with Taiwan, one of the thorns that both sides cannot do.

In a phone call between high-level US and Chinese diplomats, both sides expressed concern over the situation in Taiwan, with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attacking “US words and actions” and “any links and support to ‘Taiwan. independent … it would only get worse in the end. “

China resumed last week’s visit to the US envoy to Taiwan, while the People’s Liberation Army conducted a series of tests that followed the recent intervention of aircraft in the Taiwan Air Defense Identification Zone.

In a phone call, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “expressed concern about the PRC’s [People’s Republic of China’s] He continued the military, ambassadors, and economists against Taiwan “and” urged Beijing to hold meaningful talks to resolve the Strait dispute peacefully and in the best interests of the people of Taiwan. “

‘Red lines’

Mr Xi is expected to reinforce China’s “red lines” on Taiwan’s issue at Tuesday’s second summit, one of the many points the two sides cannot reach at the summit.

The hope of the conference is a drop in temperature and a change in tone after years of tense relations marked by a trade war during the Trump administration and the ongoing tensions this year under the Biden regime. a growing alliance in Washington on the way to China.

One thing that is different from the new administration is seen as its willingness to get what it agrees with China on other issues such as climate change, which the two countries recently announced a new treaty, although officials said they still see China as. difficult to begin with. Biden, on the other hand, has tried to work more closely with US allies and allies, including the Quad group, to come up with a way to connect with China, while also talking more about human rights.

Common ground

Emphasizing the relationship, Biden and Xi made only two phone calls this year, the first one soon after its launch. At a second summit in September, the US President told a colleague that both sides needed to “ensure that competition did not start a conflict” as they tackled a growing list of differences.

Two months before the trial, the Chinese side provided the US with talks in Tianjin with a “list” of two issues, the “List of U.S. Offenses to Stop” and the “List of Criminal Prosecutions in China.” a visa for members of the Communist Party and the withdrawal of a petition by Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of a Huawei technology company arrested in Canada for violating US sanctions on Iran.

Tuesday’s meeting could open the way for a few more agreements, including reopening consulates closed during the Trump administration and visas. Significant differences remain, with Biden facing repeated US concerns in Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong and Xi expected to challenge them.