During the phone call that lasted more than two hours, US and Chinese leaders warned each other about Taiwan. President Joe Biden told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that the US strongly opposed unilateral moves to change the island’s status.
But he said US policy on Taiwan has not changed. Beijing said Mr Xi had told Mr Biden to adhere to the one-China principle, warning him that “anyone who plays with fire will be burned”.
Tensions have risen over the issue ahead of US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s rumoured plans to visit Taiwan. The State Department says Ms Pelosi has not announced any travel, but China has warned there will be “serious consequences” if she goes on such a trip.
Last week, Mr Biden told reporters “the military doesn’t think it’s a good idea”, but his White House has called Chinese rhetoric against any such visit “clearly unhelpful and unnecessary”.
Ms Pelosi, next in line to the presidency after the vice president, will be the highest-ranking US politician to visit Taiwan since 1997.
The White House said that apart from Taiwan, the two leaders discussed various other issues, including climate change and health security.
The Biden administration has been considering whether to lift Trump-era tariffs on Chinese imports, arguing that such a move could ease soaring US inflation. But the senior US official said that the US president did not discuss that issue with Mr Xi on Thursday.
