WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) – US President Joe Biden spoke to China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping on Thursday. According to the White House, the call lasted 2 hours and 17 minutes. It was her fifth phone call since Biden took office. The contents of the phone call were initially unknown. Biden and Xi last spoke to each other in March. The US President had warned China’s state and party leaders against supporting Russia in the war against Ukraine.
China recently warned the United States of a possible trip to Taiwan by the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi. The Chinese leadership regards the free Taiwan as part of the communist People’s Republic and threatens to conquer it. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, concerns have grown that Beijing too could one day carry out its threats. Beijing had said it viewed such a trip as a provocation.
National Security Council communications director John Kirby said Wednesday it was important for Biden and Xi to have regular exchanges. “The President wants to ensure that lines of communication with President Xi remain open because they have to. There are issues where we can work with China and there are issues where there is obvious friction and tension,” he said. He mentioned Taiwan and the Ukraine war as possible topics of conversation./tr/DP/nas