Seems to Have Been Conducted to Avoid Tension Escalation
Dialogue Between US and China Leaders Also Becoming Difficult
According to foreign media reports, a confidential phone call took place between senior U.S. and Chinese officials ahead of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's visit to the United States. This is interpreted as a measure to ease rising tensions amid strong Chinese opposition to Tsai's visit.
On the 28th (local time), Bloomberg News reported, citing sources, that Jake Sullivan, U.S. National Security Advisor, and Wang Yi, a member of the Chinese Communist Party Central Political Bureau, held a private phone call on the 24th.
A source who requested anonymity stated, "The U.S. and China have been trying to ease tensions between the two countries that have continued over the past few months due to incidents such as the reconnaissance balloon issue," adding, "The call between Advisor Sullivan and Commissioner Wang took place ahead of President Tsai's visit to the U.S." However, the source added that both sides agreed not to disclose the fact or content of the call.
The call is seen as an effort to reduce the escalating military tensions between the U.S. and China following the Taiwanese government's announcement of President Tsai's visit to the U.S. Earlier, on the 21st, the Taiwanese Presidential Office announced that President Tsai would visit Central American countries Guatemala and Belize for 9 nights and 10 days starting from the 29th, with stops in New York and Los Angeles (LA) in the United States.
President Tsai will leave Taiwan on the 29th, stay briefly in New York on the 30th, and arrive in Guatemala on the 1st of next month. She will then arrive in Belize on the 3rd, spend a day there, transit through LA on the 5th, and return to Taiwan on the 7th. However, specific schedules within the U.S. have not yet been disclosed.
U.S. media have reported that President Tsai may meet with Kevin McCarthy, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Previously, Speaker McCarthy declined to visit Taiwan and stated plans to meet Taiwanese leaders in the U.S. If a meeting between President Tsai and Speaker McCarthy takes place, China is expected to strongly oppose it, similar to its reaction to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August last year.
The Chinese government opposes President Tsai's visit to the U.S. and meetings with major political figures, claiming these actions violate the "One China" principle that has been consistently emphasized since the normalization of diplomatic relations with the U.S.
Efforts to facilitate dialogue between the U.S. and China, which had been underway recently, are also expected to become more difficult. Bloomberg News pointed out, "Earlier, the U.S. government sought to arrange a phone call between President Biden and President Xi immediately after the conclusion of China's major political event, the Two Sessions (National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference) on the 13th, but due to China's lack of response, talks between the two leaders are delayed beyond expectations."
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