Taiwan, TikTok technology: Biden and Xi speak without hiding their differences (II)

The democrat also called for respect for the "right and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea", after recent incidents involving the Philippines in particular.

“The Taiwan question is the first impassable red line in Sino-American relations,” said the official Xinhua news agency, reporting Xi Jinping's remarks. “We will not allow separatist activities or external collusion supporting Taiwan independence forces to go unchecked,” she added.

The United States does not support the independence of Taiwan, whose sovereignty Beijing claims, but it provides it with military support, and opposes any change in the status quo by force.

Joe Biden also expressed his “concern” about the economic and industrial support that Beijing offers to Moscow, according to the White House.

“Don’t sit back”

“As time has gone on, we have really seen China move to help Russia rebuild its defense industrial base,” said a senior US official.

Another contentious subject, and not the least: the measures taken by Joe Biden to limit exports to China of certain advanced technologies, which Washington fears could be used for military purposes.

Xi Jinping, who sees this as a desire to undermine Chinese technological development, made it clear to his counterpart that Beijing would not “stand idly by” in the face of these restrictions.

The warning did not have much effect on the American president, who according to the White House intends to "continue to make the necessary decisions to prevent cutting-edge American technologies from being used in ways that compromise the national security" of the United States. United.

Regarding TikTok, Joe Biden reiterated his “concern” about the Chinese parent company of the popular social network, threatened by a bill in the United States.

The 81-year-old Democrat, however, assured that the objective was not to ban the platform, but to see it change ownership, explained John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council, during a briefing. press.

The current situation in Taiwan

While American President Joe Biden seemed to question the so-called “ambiguity” strategy adopted for several decades vis-à-vis China by openly declaring that “the Americans would defend Taiwan in the event of an attack” , we return to this concept initiated by decision theory but operating in international relations... as well as in everyday life.

The origin of a political strategy

“Strategic ambiguity” is a relatively recent concept, born from the historical rivalries between China and the United States over Taiwan. 

To understand its emergence, we must go back to 1949, when the Chinese nationalist party, the Kuomintang was forced to go into exile on the island of Taiwan after losing the civil war against the communists. A struggle then begins for international recognition between the two parties, both of which claim to represent all of the Chinese people. It was ultimately Mao who won in 1971, when the UN decided to bring his People's Republic of China into the organization, to the detriment of Taiwan which until then represented the country.