Joe Biden call to ease Taiwan tension with Xi Jinping

• Vice President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will talk about Ukraine.
• US officials see the call as a chance to manage the competition between the world’s two largest economies.
• China’s President Xi Jinping wants to avoid a big fight with the US.

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping may conduct their sixth call as leaders as early as today, as tensions grow about a potential visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Chinese-claimed Taiwan.

The long-planned call will talk about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which China has not condemned.

US officials saw the exchange as a chance to manage the competition between the world’s two largest economies. Relations between the two are tense because Xi has vowed to reunite democratic Taiwan with the mainland, even if it means using force.

Beijing has said that if Pelosi goes to Taiwan, there will be consequences. This would be a big, but not unprecedented, show of US support for Taiwan, which is facing increasing military and economic threats from China.

Washington’s “one-China” policy recognises Beijing, not Taipei, diplomatically. US law requires it to give the island the means to defend itself, and Congress wants more specific backing.

“This is about keeping the lines of communication open with the president of China, one of the most consequential bilateral relationships that we have, not just in that region, but around the world, because it touches so much,” John Kirby said Wednesday.

The Biden administration believes leader-to-leader engagement is the best way to lower Taiwan tensions, according to a person briefed on the call.

Analysts say that when Xi runs for a third term at a Communist Party conference in October or November, he wants to avoid a big fight with the US.

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A person briefed said Biden wants to tackle climate and economic competition issues, as well as cap Russian oil prices to penalise Moscow for its war in Ukraine, a topic Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen raised with Chinese counterparts in July.

The Biden administration is contemplating whether to lift tariffs on Chinese imports to calm spiralling inflation, but US sources say a decision isn’t expected before the call.

The US president warned Xi of “consequences” if Beijing supported Russia’s conflict in March, and the US leadership feels that the red line has not been crossed.

Even though Pelosi might go, she hasn’t confirmed it, the White House has stuck to its “one-China” policy.

As a co-equal branch of government, the US presidency has little authority over congressional travel.

Since then, China’s economy and military have grown, and some analysts worry that a visit at a time when relations are tense could lead to a fight over the 160 km-wide Taiwan Strait.

“The relationship is in such a toxic state. Mutual distrust is really at an all-time high. I think people don’t realize how dangerous this particular moment is,”  said Bonnie Glaser,

She added Biden and Xi should work on de-escalation, including risk-reduction techniques.