President Joe Biden held a fifth call with Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday, where apparently Xi issued a rather ominous warning to Biden that he was “playing with fire” over Taiwan, as concerns continue to rise as a potential visit to the island by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi remains in the cards.
You know, if we had another leader in the White House, one with all of his mental faculties and a spine made out of solid steel, I wouldn’t be worried about this one bit. Unfortunately, Biden is president, and he has neither one of those, which makes this very volatile situation extremely concerning.
Chinese state media went on to say that Xi told Biden during their phone chat the U.S. should abide the “one-China principle” and then stressed that China was dead set against Taiwanese independence and interference of external forces.
Of course they are. The Chinese Communist Party hates the very idea of liberty, so to see a land they felt they conquered and owned become free and attempt to do things their own way, well, that’s insufferable, therefore, action must be taken to snuff out this freedom.
According to Newsmax, “Beijing has issued escalating warnings about repercussions should Pelosi – a Democrat like Biden – visit Taiwan, a move that would be a dramatic, though not unprecedented, show of U.S. support for the island, which says it is facing increasing Chinese military and economic threats.”
“Those who play with fire will only get burnt,” Chinese state media quoted Xi as saying during his discussion with Biden. “(We) hope the U.S. side can see this clearly.”
The White House stated that the call took two hours. Officials for the United States had previously said the call would have a broad agenda, set to include topics like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which China has not yet come out and condemned.
“At its core though, U.S. officials said they saw the exchange as another chance to manage competition between the world’s two largest economies, whose ties have been increasingly clouded by tensions over democratically governed Taiwan, which Xi has vowed to reunite with the mainland, by force if necessary,” the report said.
The Newsmax report revealed that D.C., does not have official relations with Taiwan and typically does follow a “one-China” policy which recognizes the city of Beijing, not Taipei diplomatically speaking. However, according to U.S. law, the government is bound to provide the island with various means of self-defense as pressure has been applied to Congress to offer Taiwan more explicit support.
“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,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby stated during a chat with reporters ahead of the call.
One individual who was briefed on the planning for the call revealed that the Biden administration thinks leader-to-leader is the best solution for lowering tension concerning Taiwan.
“Some analysts believe Xi also has an interest in avoiding escalation as he seeks an unprecedented third term in office at a congress of China’s ruling Communist Party expected in the fall,” Newsmax reported.
The vast majority of Americans would like the current administration to spend a lot more time being tough, firm, and extremely diplomatic in order to avoid getting into a third world war with either Russia or China. Heck, maybe both when it’s all said and done.
However, with the weak leadership we currently have in office, that is beginning to seem harder to accomplish. And the war hawks in Congress are already chomping at the bit, ready to fly forward and get to dropping bombs, which is the last thing the world needs.
Here’s to hoping cool, but firm heads prevail.
This story syndicated with permission from michael, Author at Trending Politics
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