China not to 'sit on its hands' if Taiwan independence forces step up their separatist activities: Xi tells Biden
Xi Jinping has told his US counterpart Joe Biden that the Taiwan question is the «first red line» that must not be crossed by Washington, and warned that Beijing will not «sit on its hands» if "Taiwan independence" forces step up their "separatist activities" with the help of external elements. Biden spoke on the phone with Xi on Tuesday, marking the first conversation between the two leaders since their historic in-person summit last November in San Francisco and the latest in ongoing efforts by US and Chinese officials to defuse tensions between the two countries.
The White House described the one-hour-45-minute conversation as «candid and constructive» on a range of issues on which the leaders agreed and disagreed. Biden stressed the need to maintain «peace and stability» across the Taiwan Strait and he also raised his concerns over China's support for Russia's defence industry, the White House said.
«President Biden emphasised the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea,» the White House said.
China's Foreign Ministry also said the two leaders had a «candid and in-depth exchange.» In the call, Xi characterised the US-China relations as «beginning to stabilise,» but he warned that «negative factors» had been growing and required «attention from both sides,» a ministry readout said.
However, the Chinese statement on Taiwan stood out.
On Taiwan, a key
