Biden Speaks With Chinese President Xi Jinping in First Call Since November Amid Global Tensions

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping, marking the first conversation between the leaders since their historic face-to-face summit in November and the latest ongoing efforts by US and Chinese officials to ease tensions between the two giants.

The call was made amid severe worldwide unrest, and they discussed North Korea's nuclear weapons program and the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.

It also included other problems that have strained relations between Washington and Beijing, such as Taiwan, China's recent provocations in the South China Sea, and Beijing's violations of human rights.

Biden, Xi Spoke for First Time Since November

According to US officials, the goal of the talks was to resolve rather than manage tensions, and both leaders were open about their intense disagreements.

Xi claimed the US posed economic risks to China because of Biden's wide ban on high-tech exports.

A Chinese state media said that Xi warned that if the US insists on suppressing China's high-tech development and depriving China of its legitimate right to development, they will not sit idly by.

Biden rebuffed his appeal, with the White House saying he told him "the United States will continue to take necessary actions to prevent advanced US technologies from being used to undermine our national security, without unduly limiting trade and investment."

Kirby reported that Biden did not back down about TikTok, the popular app owned by China that Congress is threatening to ban until it changes hands. Biden stressed that he wants to protect the security of American citizens' data.

Xi, China's most powerful leader in decades, has consolidated authority at home and adopted a tough stance in Asia.

In recent weeks, he has escalated clashes with the Philippines in the South China Sea and clamped down on freedoms in Hong Kong.

However, US watchers see Xi as eager to defuse tensions with the US as China navigates its challenging economic conditions.

Xi granted the US two main demands during the California summit, which are the restrictions on the precursor chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl, the synthetic opioid that is causing a US overdose epidemic, and the resumption of communication between the two militaries to manage crises.

He also might think there are more opportunities to work with Biden, who ran against Donald Trump in November's presidential election and has portrayed China as an opponent.

Furthermore, Biden has also pointed out areas of shared interest, such as combating climate change and maintaining or stepping up some of Trump's tough measures.

The White House stated that before President-elect Lai Ching-te's inauguration on May 20, Biden urged Xi to ensure "peace and stability" across the Taiwan Strait.

China has denounced Lai, a longtime supporter of a separate identity for the self-ruling democracy claimed by Beijing, but the US has been cautiously optimistic that China will not go beyond custom in its military maneuvers ahead of the inauguration.

According to state media, Xi informed Biden over the phone that Taiwan is still an "uncrossable red line" for China.

The US has expressed growing concern over increasing Chinese moves against the Philippines in the dispute-rife South China Sea. The Biden administration has placed a high priority on supporting allies while continuing to communicate with China.

Amid the diplomatic turmoil with China, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos will join Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington for three-way discussions during Kishida's state visit next week.

TOPSHOT-US-CHINA-DIPLOMACY-APEC-SUMMIT — TOPSHOT - US President Joe Biden greets Chinese President Xi Jinping before a meeting during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Week in Woodside, California, on November 15, 2023. Biden and Xi will try to prevent the superpowers' rivalry spilling into conflict when they meet for the first time in a year at a high-stakes summit in San Francisco on Wednesday. (Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Yellen, Blinken To Visit China

According to officials, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is scheduled to depart on Wednesday and visit Guangzhou, a southern city representative of China's manufacturing power, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is also expected to visit China in the coming weeks.

Following the call, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that they believe there is no substitute for regular communication at the leader level to manage this complex and often tense bilateral relationship effectively.

In less than a year, Blinken and Yellen will make their second trip to China, returning to their regular interactions after the COVID-19 pandemic and rising tensions under Trump.