Biden and Xi discussed ‘peace and stability’ by phone | iRADIO

In relation to Taiwan, Biden stressed the need to maintain “peace and stability” in the Taiwan Strait and preserve the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, according to AFP.

Tuesday’s phone call was the first conversation between the two leaders since they met in November last year near San Francisco, and is intended to build on regular dialogues between the two powers, the agencies said.

Xi and Biden “sincerely and in-depth exchanged views on China-US relations and issues of mutual concern,” China’s state news agency said of the conversation.

According to Chinese media, cited by Western agencies, the two presidents also talked about Russian aggression in Ukraine or the growing tension on the Korean Peninsula.

US-China negotiations

The phone call was the start of several weeks of high-level US-Chinese talks, according to the AP. Finance Minister Janet Yellen is scheduled to travel to China on Thursday, and Foreign Minister Antony Blinken is also scheduled to travel to China in the following weeks.

Working-level consultations will continue in the coming weeks and months. Visits by members of the Chinese government to the US are also planned. In addition, a telephone conversation between the defense ministers of the two countries will soon take place, DPA reports.

US officials spoke of an “open and constructive discussion” between the two statesmen, in which President Biden also addressed many critical points, including China’s support for Russia’s arms industry during the war in Ukraine, China’s stance on Taiwan and the issue of “unfair” trade practices .

The US president has expressed his continued concern over China’s unfair trade policies and “non-market economic practices”, according to information from the White House, according to Reuters.

However, the two leaders welcomed continued efforts to maintain open channels of communication and mutual relations through high diplomacy, according to the White House.

ByteDance and drug smuggling

The phone call, which lasted about an hour and a half, also reached the social network TikTok, which is owned by a Chinese company. According to White House security spokesman John Kirby, the US has reiterated its concerns about Chinese ownership of the popular app.

In March, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that would allow the platform to be banned in the United States in the interest of national security if its Chinese owner ByteDance does not sell its stake within six months.

The move stems from concerns that the popular platform is controlled by Beijing through its Chinese owner and could be used against the Americans.

The two presidents also talked about the drug issue. During the November meeting in California, Biden and Xi agreed, among other things, to cooperate in the fight against the smuggling of fentanyl – a drug that is responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans every year. Components for the production of this opiate often come from China. Therefore, Beijing should limit the export of some chemical substances.

CTK

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