Biden fails to threaten China during talk with Xi Jinping

THE threat by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that US Imperialism will not hesitate to “impose costs” on China over the issue of its non-involvement in Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine proved to be mere bluster after the texts of the meeting between President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping was released by China over the weekend and where it clearly shows that Biden failed to intimidate China into going along with his call to condemn Russia or use China’s influence on Russia to stop the war  in Ukraine.

The video conference was made on the initiative of the United States, not of China, as most Western media suggest.

Based on the summary of the talks held between the leaders of the two superpowers last Friday, March 18, 2022 and released by CGTN, Biden, rather than threatening China as Blinken asserted a day before, instead assured his counterpart that the US “does not seek a new Cold War with China; it does not aim to change China’s system; the revitalization of its alliances is not targeted at China; the U.S. does not support ‘Taiwan independence;’ and, it has no intention to seek a conflict with China.”

This was in utter conflict with Blinken’s press briefing a day before at the State Department where he said:
“We believe China in particular has a responsibility to use its influence with President Putin and to defend the international rules and principles that it professes to support.

“Instead, it appears that China is moving in the opposite direction by refusing to condemn this aggression while seeking to portray itself as a neutral arbiter – and we’re concerned that they are considering directly assisting Russia with military equipment to use in Ukraine.

“President Biden will be speaking to President Xi tomorrow and will make clear that China will bear responsibility for any actions it takes to support Russia’s aggression, and we will not hesitate to impose costs.”

The texts of the meeting, however, showed that it was Pres. Xi Jinping who had repeatedly chided, albeit diplomatically, Biden for the war in Ukraine, the issue of Taiwan and the US’ use of sanctions against other countries that only resulted to the suffering of ordinary people.

Flatly rejecting US efforts for China to use its influence on Russia to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, Xi said: “He who tied the bell to the tiger must take it off,” alluding to US and NATO’s incessant provocation against Russia thru Ukraine over the years that left Russian President Vladimir Putin no choice but to resort to a military solution.

“It is imperative that the parties involved demonstrate political will and find a proper settlement in view of both immediate and long-term needs. Other parties can and should create conditions to that end,” Xi said, suggesting further that the time has come for the US and NATO to have a direct talk with Russia.

And while Biden professed that his administration is committed to the ‘One-China Policy’ and of further improving relationship with China, Pres. Xi pointed out that the China-U.S. relationship, instead of getting out of the predicament created by the previous U.S. administration (Donald Trump), has encountered a growing number of challenges.

What is worth noting in particular is that some people in the U.S. have sent a wrong signal to ‘Taiwan independence forces.’

Mishandling of the Taiwan question is not only “dangerous” but will also have a disruptive impact on the bilateral ties, Xi said, adding his hope that Biden would give due attention to the issue.

He also noted that since their last video conference in November 2021, the Biden administration has not taken any further step to implement what they have agreed upon.

(S)ome people on the U.S. side have not followed through on the important common understanding reached by the two Presidents and have not acted on President Biden’s positive statements. The U.S. has misperceived and miscalculated China’s strategic intention,” Xi said.

“As leaders of major countries, we need to think about how to properly address global hotspot issues and, more importantly, keep in mind global stability and the work and life of billions of people,” Xi told Biden.

He also criticized the US’ penchant to resort to sanctions against other countries, saying sweeping and indiscriminate sanctions would only make the (ordinary) people suffer.

“If further escalated, they could trigger serious crises in global economy and trade, finance, energy, food, and industrial and supply chains, crippling the already languishing world economy and causing irrevocable losses.

“The more complex the situation, the greater the need to remain cool-headed and rational,” the text of the meeting stated further.

Although both sides concluded the latest talk has been “constructive,” with instructions to their respective subordinates “to promptly follow up and take concrete actions to put China-U.S. relations back on the track of steady development,” what is clear is that Biden went away empty-handed on the issue of Ukraine and Russia.