Despite Xi's 'fire', call with Biden avoided Taiwan escalation

U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping managed largely to steer clear of escalatory rhetoric on Taiwan in a Thursday call, suggesting that neither side – preoccupied with economic woes at home – wants a fresh crisis across the Taiwan Strait.

Xi’s warning to Biden against “playing with fire” over Taiwan, though vivid, largely mirrored his remarks from the two leaders’ video meeting in November.

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“My sense is the two leaders talking directly probably lowered the temperature somewhat relative to what it would have been without the meeting,” said Jacob Stokes, an Indo-Pacific security fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

“But the structural drivers of tension in the bilateral relationship remain, as does the prospect of a visit by Speaker Pelosi to Taiwan,” he said.

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