As Pelosi begins Asia tour, China warns against visiting Taiwan
A visit by Pelosi, who is third in the line of succession to the presidency and a long-time critic of China, would come amid worsening ties between Washington and Beijing.
Nov 11: The much-awaited meeting comes at a time when relations between the two superpowers have particularly soured.
This has been fuelled by Beijing's claims over self-ruled Taiwan and its increasing assertiveness in Asia.
The US has responded by restricting access to computer chip technology.
That has hit China's export-driven economy which uses the tech to make and sell everything from phones to electric cars.
Given the recent spike in tensions and rhetoric, the world - and America's Asian allies such India, Japan and Australia - will be closely watching the meeting scheduled to take place on Monday in Bali ahead of the G20 Summit.
Mr Xi has spent most of the pandemic in China and only recently began travelling overseas again.
"I'm sure we'll discuss Taiwan... and what I want to do with him when we talk is lay out... what each of our red lines are," Mr Biden said at a press conference on Thursday after the White House confirmed the meeting.
This way they can "determine whether or not they conflict with one another… and if they do, how to resolve and how to work it out", he said. However, he also added that he was not willing to "make any fundamental concessions" about the US' policy on Taiwan.
Mr Biden, unlike previous US presidents, has repeatedly said the US would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.
But the White House has always rolled back his comments, insisting that Washington's stance of "strategic ambiguity" - under which it does not commit to defending Taiwan but also does not rule out the option - remains unchanged.
The White House later said on Thursday that it would brief Taiwan on the results of the meeting, with national security adviser Jake Sullivan saying the aim was to make Taiwan feel "secure and comfortable" about US support.
Meanwhile, China's foreign ministry said the US should work together with China to avoid misunderstandings and misjudgements, adding that while it wants peace with the US, "the Taiwan question" is at the core of its interests.
At the Chinese Communist Party congress last month, Mr Xi reiterated China's position on Taiwan where they would "never promise to renounce the use of force".
He said they reserved the option of "taking all measures necessary" if "outside forces" interfered with China's claims.
The US has long been walking a tightrope over Taiwan. A cornerstone of its relationship with Beijing is the One China policy, according to which Washington acknowledges only one Chinese government - in Beijing - and has no formal ties with Taiwan.
But it also maintains close relations with Taiwan and sells arms to it under the Taiwan Relations Act, which states that the US must provide the island with the means to defend itself.
South Asia was divided while responding to Pelosi's Taiwan visit. Pakistan and Afghanistan followed the Chinese standpoint. Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka reiterated their one-China policy and leveraged it to attain their interests but India and the Maldives opposed China to reiterate their policy.
AUG 18: The first round of talks are expected to begin in "early fall", said the Office of US Trade Representative.
Their discussion will include talks on trade facilitation, digital trade and anti-corruption standards.
Relations between the US and China have been increasingly tense following Ms Pelosi's visit.
The US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade was first unveiled in June, with both sides now saying they had "reached consensus on the negotiating mandate".
"We plan to pursue an ambitious schedule.... that will help build a fairer, more prosperous and resilient 21st century economy," said Deputy United States Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi in a statement.
Trade between the US and Taiwan was worth nearly $106bn (£88bn) in 2020.
The announcement comes as China launched its largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan after Ms Pelosi's visit earlier in August.
Under the "One China policy", the US recognises and has formal ties with China rather than the island of Taiwan but maintains a "robust unofficial" relationship with Taiwan, including continued arms sales to the island so that it can defend itself.
Beijing sees the self-governing island as its own, renegade territory that must be united with the mainland.
However, Taiwan is a self-ruled island that sees itself as distinct from the mainland.
Seperately on Thursday, top US diplomat for East Asia Daniel Kritenbrink said Beijing's "growing coercion....threatens the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait".
"We will continue to take calm, but resolute steps to uphold peace and stability in the face of Beijing's ongoing efforts to undermine it and to support Taiwan in line with our long-standing policy," he said.
Pelosi was on a tour of Asia that includes announced visits to Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan. Her stop in Taiwan had not been announced but had been widely anticipated.
Aug 3: It accused Ms Pelosi, the most senior US politician in 25 years to visit the island China claims as its own, of "playing with fire".
"Those who play with fire will perish by it," Beijing warned in a statement.
US national security spokesperson John Kirby said there was "no reason for this visit to become a spurring event for a crisis or conflict".
Speaking after Ms Pelosi's arrival, he reiterated to reporters that the trip was consistent with the US's long-standing policy towards China and did not violate the country's sovereignty.
Early on Wednesday, Ms Pelosi made her way to parliament, where she spoke to Taiwan's deputy speaker and then addressed the media.
She said she came "in peace to the region" and that she wanted to increase parliamentary exchanges between Washington and Taipei, and commended Taiwan for being "one of the freest societies in the world". She then headed in to a closed-door session.
She also said that a US bill on computer chips would be a good opportunity to increase cooperation given that Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC produces more than half of the world's semiconductors.
Ms Pelosi is expected to meet Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen later on Wednesday, as well as a group of human rights activists.
Her visit comes despite repeated warnings from China, which sees Taiwan as a breakaway province which will one day unite with it. Beijing has not ruled out the possible use of force to achieve this.
Even before Ms Pelosi's visit, tensions between the US and China have been rising for years - with Taiwan being one of the major flash points.
As her plane touched down, Chinese state media reported that its military jets were crossing the Taiwan strait. Taiwan denied those reports at the time, but later said that more than 20 Chinese military planes had entered its air defence zone on Tuesday.
Within an hour of Ms Pelosi's arrival, China announced that the People's Liberation Army will conduct a series of live-fire military drills in the air and at sea around Taiwan later this week - warning ships and aircraft not to enter the affected areas.
This follows days of escalating tensions in which Chinese warplanes had already ventured out as far as the median line, the unofficial divide separating China and Taiwan in the waters between them.
'Not going to be intimidated'
While Ms Pelosi's visit had been the subject of huge international speculation for days, it had been shrouded in secrecy until the last minute.
When she set off on a tour of Asia on Sunday, there was no mention of Taiwan on her official itinerary, which included Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan.
The White House has been open in its opposition to any such trip, and President Joe Biden said the military assessed it as "not a good idea".
But after Ms Pelosi landed, the White House's Mr Kirby told CNN this visit was similar to previous trips by other officials, adding that the "United States is not going to be intimidated by threats".
On Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi released a statement reiterating China's opposition to Ms Pelosi's visit.
Mr Wang called it an "open political provocation", adding that it "seriously violates the one-China principle and harms China's sovereignty".
"The US must stop obstructing China's great reunification. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China".
China exerts international pressure on other nations to accept its "One China" principle - that there is only one Chinese nation, based in Beijing. Only 15 nations in the world have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
The US however, abides by the "One China" policy - which sees it recognising and having formal ties with China rather than Taiwan - but allows it to maintain a "robust unofficial" relationship with the island. That includes selling weapons for Taiwan to defend itself.
MAY 31: The incident on Monday marked the biggest incursion since January.
It came days after US President Joe Biden warned China against invading Taiwan, and on the same day as a US official visited the island to discuss security with leaders.
China has ratcheted up the frequency of its air missions in recent months, claiming they are training drills.
Such moves have angered Taiwan and increased tensions in the region.
China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province, which it can take by force if necessary.
The latest incident included 22 fighters, as well as electronic warfare, early warning and antisubmarine aircraft, Taiwan's defence ministry said.
The aircraft flew in an area to the northeast of the Pratas Islands that is part of the Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ), according to a map the ministry provided.
But the planes did not cross over into Taiwan's airspace itself, which would have been regarded as an act of hostility.
An ADIZ is an area outside of a country's territory and national airspace but where foreign aircraft are still identified, monitored, and controlled in the interest of national security. It is self-declared and technically remains international airspace.
Taiwan has been reporting for more than a year that Chinese aircraft have been flying into its ADIZ, calling it "grey zone" warfare aimed at testing their military response and wearing them out.
Analysts have previously said the incursions were a warning against Taiwan's government from moving towards a formal declaration of independence.
Beijing has said in the past that the exercises were geared to protect its sovereignty.
Mr Biden had referenced the air incursions during his visit to Asia that concluded last week - his first visit to the region as president.
He said China was "already flirting with danger right now by flying so close" to Taiwan, and issued his strongest warning to China yet, saying the US would be willing to respond military if Beijing were to invade the island.
His words appeared to mark a shift from the US' longstanding policy of "strategic ambiguity" on Taiwan, which allowed the US to remain deliberately vague about its response in such a situation.
China's military said last week it had recently conducted an exercise around Taiwan as a "solemn warning" against its "collusion" with the United States.
Monday's incursion took place as US senator Tammy Duckworth arrived in Taipei on an unannounced visit to discuss matters of regional security and trade with Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen.
After sending a record number of military aircraft to harass Taiwan over China’s National Day holiday, Beijing has toned down the saber rattling but tensions remain high, with the rhetoric and reasoning behind the exercises unchanged.
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