Biden has said publicly several times as president that he would defend Taiwan if Beijing attacked it. But each time he made those remarks, other administration officials tried to walk away from his comments and say they did not reflect a change in US policy. For years, US policy on Taiwan’s defense has been one of “strategic ambiguity” – that is, it is deliberately unclear whether the US military would come to Taiwan’s aid in the event of a Chinese attack. Biden, as president, is commander-in-chief of the US military. On Wednesday, Biden declined to say whether he would confirm to Xi that the US was committed to defending Taiwan in the face of a Chinese attack. “I will have that conversation with him,” Biden said, adding, “The Taiwan doctrine has not changed at all.” Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has said it will eventually unite the island with the mainland, by force if necessary. Beijing opposes other nations’ contacts with Taiwanese government officials. According to official US policy, Washington does not recognize Beijing’s claim to sovereignty over Taiwan, but “recognizes” that the claim exists. The US has not had formal diplomatic relations with Taipei since 1979, when Washington changed its diplomatic recognition to Beijing. But under the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, Washington maintains an unofficial relationship with Taipei and is obliged to sell arms to Taiwan that are used in a “defensive capacity”. Beyond Taiwan, Biden said Wednesday that China was “keeping some distance” from Russia as the war in Ukraine continues. Biden administration officials have repeatedly said they are watching closely to see whether Beijing provides assistance to Moscow in its war effort, especially after Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a “borderless” cooperation between their two nations shortly before it began the invasion. Biden suggested he might also discuss China’s growing nuclear arsenal during his expected meeting with Xi, another point of concern in Washington. “I think the discussion about nuclear weapons and the location, the number of them and the access, is important to discuss,” he said. He added that it “remains to be seen” whether Xi has “backtracked from his initial judgment” that China should have the world’s strongest military and largest economy. “It’s a long way from both,” Biden said. Biden also said the two leaders would discuss “fair trade” issues during their expected meeting as well as China’s relations with its neighbors, many of whom are close US allies and have their own tensions and territorial disputes with Beijing.
