Xi warns Biden over Taiwan in virtual talks

Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a warning to his US counterpart during their first virtual meeting since Mr Joe Biden took office early this year: Do not cross the red line that is Taiwan.

In turn, the White House asked China not to undermine peace across the Taiwan Strait.

The two leaders spoke for nearly four hours yesterday morning (Beijing time), with the primary aim of establishing ground rules for their growing rivalry and stopping it from degenerating into conflict.

Mr Xi appeared careful not to point the finger directly at the United States, blaming heightened tensions in the Taiwan Strait on the Taiwan authorities' repeated attempts to "rely on the US for independence", while saying that some in the US had tried to play the Taiwan card to curb China.

Describing this trend as akin to "playing with fire", Mr Xi reminded Mr Biden of the "one China" policy and three US-China joint communiques that formed the political foundation of US-China ties.

"We are patient and willing to do our utmost to strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification with the utmost sincerity, but if separatist forces provoke and force the issue, or even break through the red line, we will have to take decisive measures," Mr Xi was quoted as saying.

Mr Biden stressed his continued commitment to the policy, which recognises the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China. The communiques, issued in 1972, 1979 and 1982, reinforce that point.

But the White House statement added that the US commitment to the "one China" policy was also guided by the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances - which commit the US to helping Taiwan to defend itself - and that the US "strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait".

The two leaders, who have known each other for years, started their meeting at 8.45am, greeting each other with a wave over a video link.

Besides Taiwan, they touched on a host of other issues, with Mr Biden raising concerns over China's governance of Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong, as well as its trade practices that Washington has charged were unfair.

In turn, Mr Xi asked Mr Biden not to suppress Chinese enterprises in the name of national security, and said he was willing to discuss human rights issues but stressed that these should not be used to interfere in the domestic affairs of other countries.

Mr Xi called for mutual respect and "peaceful co-existence", saying he was willing to work with Mr Biden to take the bilateral relationship forward.

Both leaders agreed that they should establish "guardrails" to manage their differences and prevent them from spiralling out of control, and spoke of cooperation in areas like climate change.

Associate Professor Hoo Tiang Boon of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies said the Chinese would probably see the meeting as a relative win for two reasons.

"First and foremost, they will see that they have extracted some form of a formal assurance from Biden himself that the US does not support Taiwan independence," said Prof Hoo, who studies US-China relations.

"Second, this is an opportunity for them to get across their key points and concerns without making any concessions at all. And, of course, likewise for the Americans."

Shortly after the meeting ended, the Communist Party of China released the withheld third historical resolution that was adopted by the party central committee last week.

The resolution, only the third in the party's 100-year history, cements Mr Xi's supremacy and paves the way for his continued leadership.