The US president, Joe Biden, and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, spoke this Thursday by phone for more than two hours, according to the White House, which has not yet given details of the content of the meeting. call.
The telephone exchange between the two leaders began at 8:33 local time (12:33 GMT) and ended at 10:50 local time (14:50 GMT), according to the presidential mansion.
This is the fifth phone call between the two leaders since Biden arrived at the White House in January 2021.
The call has aroused special attention due to tensions between the two powers over the war in Ukraine, US tariffs on Chinese products and, above all, a possible trip to Taiwan by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi announced her plans to go to Taiwan in April, but had to suspend the trip due to contracting covid-19, and now, according to some US media, she is making preparations to visit the island this summer, although her office has not yet made any official announcement.
It would be the first visit by a US House Speaker since 1997, when Republican Newt Gingrich visited the island.
The Chinese government has made it clear that it perceives the trip as a threat and, just yesterday, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, warned that the Asian giant “will respond firmly” and the US will have to “assume all the consequences” that arise from the possible visit of Pelosi.
Taiwan is one of the main sources of friction between China and the United States, mainly because Washington is Taiwan’s main arms supplier and would be its greatest military ally in the event of a possible war with China.
In 1979, after breaking diplomatic ties with Taipei and establishing them with Beijing, the United States adopted the Taiwan Relations Act, committing itself to the defense of the island and the supply of war equipment.