Biden-Xi phone call is welcome but insufficient to improve the U.S.-China relationship

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 28, 2022
Contact: press@defensepriorities.org

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, President Joe Biden held a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss issues of concern, including Taiwan. Defense Priorities Director of Asia Engagement Lyle Goldstein issued the following statement in response:

“President Biden’s phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the first since March, comes at a time when U.S.-China relations are in a precarious state. U.S. freedom of navigation operations through the Taiwan Strait continue to cause significant angst in Beijing and feed Xi’s already firm belief that the U.S. is moving away from a One China policy that has maintained stability in the Strait for decades.

“A Cold War style policy of containing China doesn’t serve the U.S. security interest and runs the high risk of resulting in a confrontation the U.S. can’t afford. U.S. policy should aim instead for responsible competition with China. This requires clear lines of communication and pragmatic diplomacy—even more so when tensions are high. Biden’s phone conference with Xi is welcome, but a two-hour meeting is unlikely to result in any concrete understandings. Today’s poor state of U.S.-China ties means the two leaders need a multi-day session to build an interpersonal relationship that, to date, is sorely lacking; a one-off phone call is insufficient.

“Avoiding a war over Taiwan should be the first order of business, which means the U.S. must refrain from escalatory moves—like a potential visit to the island by Speaker Pelosi—that would be unnecessarily provocative and serve no purpose. Any conflict over Taiwan would be highly destructive, and there is a high risk the U.S. would lose such a fight due to China’s favorable geographic position and Beijing’s ability to quickly mass firepower in the region. China is willing to endure high sacrifices in a Taiwan contingency; the same can’t be said of the U.S.”