US President Joe Biden on Wednesday expressed his desire to discuss with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping the mutual “red lines” that should not be crossed at the G20 heads of state summit scheduled for mid-November.
“What I want to do with him when we talk is find out what kind of red lines” we have to respect, the Democratic leader said at a press conference in Washington.
Joe Biden said he wanted to explore the existence of a possible conflict between “what he (Xi Jinping) considers to be critical national interests of China (and) what I know to be critical national interests of the United States.”
The US president said he was ready to work on resolving such a conflict, while relations between Beijing and Washington have become strained and deteriorated recently.
The White House tenant will travel to Asia this weekend, first to a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Phnom Penh, then to a G20 meeting in Bali and finally to the Asia-Pacific Cooperation Forum (Apec) in Bangkok.
Taiwan on the discussion menu
They will be strategic meetings for the United States, which has identified China as its long-term “only rival” and is seeking to unite countries, particularly in Southeast Asia, that are reluctant to oppose Beijing.
The US president confirmed on Wednesday that he will raise the very sensitive issue of Taiwan with Xi Jinping.
“The doctrine on Taiwan has not changed at all,” Joe Biden repeated again, avoiding rephrasing previous statements that had angered Beijing, according to which the US military would defend Taiwan if the island were attacked.
Source: BFM TV
