Biden and Xi Jinping discuss Taiwan, AI and opioids in phone conversation

United States President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed issues about Taiwan, artificial intelligence and security this Tuesday (2), in a telephone conversation. The call was the leaders’ first conversation since a summit in California in November sought to demonstrate renewed ties between the two nations’ militaries and a pledge of enhanced cooperation to stem the deadly flow of fentanyl and its precursors from China.

The two leaders discussed Taiwan ahead of the inauguration next month of Lai Ching-te, the island’s elected president, who has promised to safeguard the territory’s independence and bring it further into line with other democracies. Biden reaffirmed the United States’ long-standing “One China” policy and reiterated that the US opposes any coercive means to bring Taiwan under Beijing’s control.

China considers Taiwan an internal matter and has vigorously protested U.S. support for the island. Biden also raised concerns about China’s operations in the South China Sea, including efforts last month to prevent the Philippines, which the U.S. is obligated by treaty to defend, from resupplying its forces at the disputed Second Thomas Shoal.

Biden, on the call with Xi, pressed China to do more to meet its commitments to stem the flow of illegal narcotics and to schedule additional precursor chemicals to prevent their export.

The White House leader reinforced warnings to Xi against interference in the 2024 U.S. election as well as continued malicious cyberattacks against critical American infrastructure, according to a senior U.S. administration official who previewed the call on condition of anonymity. He also raised concerns about human rights in China, including Hong Kong’s restrictive new national security law and treatment of minority groups, and raised the plight of Americans detained in or barred from leaving China.

The Democratic president also pressed China on its defense relationship with Russia, which seeks to rebuild its industrial base as it moves forward with its invasion of Ukraine. And he called on Beijing to exert its influence over North Korea to curb the country’s nuclear program.