TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — During his summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平), President Joe Biden said that China needs to respect and cooperate with the winner of the Taiwan presidential elections, according to the U.S. National Security Council’s Deputy Assistant for Indo-Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell.
Biden and Xi held talks for the first time in a year on Wednesday (Nov. 15), covering issues such as Taiwan, military communication, combating fentanyl trafficking, and AI. Since taking office, this was Biden’s second face-to-face meeting with Xi and it attracted global media attention.
According to the minutes of the dialogue released by the White House, Biden emphasized that the United States’ “one-China” policy remains unchanged, and reiterated his opposition to either side’s unilateral change of the status quo. He expressed his hopes that cross-strait differences will be peacefully resolved.
Biden said that “the world has an interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.” He also called on Beijing to exercise restraint with its military activities in and around the Taiwan Strait, but no mention was made in the meeting’s record of Taiwan’s elections.
However, when asked what he had said to Xi about Taiwan’s elections at a press conference held after the meeting, Biden said, “I made clear I didn’t expect any interference,” reported VOA.
During an interview with Taiwanese media on Thursday (Nov. 16), Campbell said that Biden clearly conveyed a message to Xi that the U.S. remains firmly committed to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, reported CNA. Campbell said that Biden warned China not to interfere in Taiwan’s elections and expressed his belief in the value of Taiwan’s democracy and elections.
Biden reportedly stressed that China also needs to “respect and cooperate with the winner.” Campbell emphasized that Biden made it clear that in the past agreements between the two parties on Taiwan remain unchanged and that the U.S. will take all necessary measures to maintain peace and stability.
Biden officially nominated Campbell to serve as deputy secretary of state in the State Department on Nov. 1. When Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and National Security Council Secretary General Wellington Koo (顧立雄) held talks with senior U.S. officials in Washington at the American Institute in Taiwan headquarters in Washington, D.C. in February, Campbell was also one of the officials participating in the meeting and has visited Taiwan many times in the past.