Already stuck in a trade war, Beijing and Washington increasingly risk open conflict over Taiwan, with little sign of resolution on either front.
Xi Jinping and Joe Biden have held two hours of "candid and in-depth" talks, in which the Chinese president warned his US counterpart not to "play with fire" amid mounting tensions over Taiwan, state media reported.
The virtual summit lasting over two hours took place on Thursday as Beijing and Washington increasingly risk open conflict over the self-ruling island, which China considers part of its territory.
"Those who play with fire will eventually get burned," Xinhua quoted Xi as telling Biden on Thursday. "I hope the US side fully understand that," he was quoted as saying.
"The position of the Chinese government and people on the Taiwan issue is consistent,'" Xi was quoted as saying.
"It is the firm will of the over 1.4 billion Chinese people to firmly safeguard China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity."
While this was Biden's fifth talk with Xi since becoming president a year and a half ago, it's getting hard to mask deepening mistrust between the two countries.
"Tensions over China's aggressive, coercive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific" will be high on the agenda, said White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
READ MORE: Biden plans talks with China's Xi, puts Pelosi's Taiwan visit in question
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Pelosi's Taiwan visit
The latest flashpoint is a possible trip by Biden ally and speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, to the island, which Beijing claims is part of China but has its own distinct, democratic government.
Although US officials frequently visit Taiwan, separated by a narrow strip of water from the Chinese mainland, Beijing considers a Pelosi trip as a major provocation.
She's second in line to the US presidency and given her position may travel with military transport.
Washington will "bear the consequences" if the trip, which Pelosi has yet to confirm, goes ahead, China warned on Wednesday.
And the dispute around Pelosi is the tip of an iceberg, with US officials fearing that Xi is mulling use of force to impose control over Taiwan.
Once considered unlikely, an invasion, or lesser form of military action, is increasingly seen by China watchers as possible - perhaps even timed to boost Xi's prestige when he moves later this year into a third term.
Biden's contradictory comments on whether the United States would defend Taiwan - he said in May that it would, before the White House insisted there was no change in the hands-off "strategic ambiguity" policy - have not helped the tension.
READ MORE: China might militarily interfere in US Pelosi's Taiwan visit — report
Source: AFP
Source https://www.globalcourant.com/xi-warns-biden-not-to-play-with-fire-amid-tensions-over-taiwan/?feed_id=3488&_unique_id=62e2d455cadc7
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