The New York Post has a good editorial on President Biden’s big April 2 phone call with President Xi. It notes that the White House readout of the call fails to align with Beijing’s summary.
According to the White House, Biden told Xi that restrictions are necessary “to prevent advanced U.S. technologies from being used to undermine our national security, without unduly limiting trade and investment.” According to Beijing, Xi argued to Biden that those export curbs “suppress China’s trade and technology development” and are “creating risks” for bilateral ties. The Beijing readout added a warning. Xi warned that Beijing won’t “sit back and watch” if the United States continues to impose such restrictions.
According to the White House, Biden emphasized the importance of “peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” “the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea,” America’s “commitment” to denuclearizing North Korea, “concerns” over climate change (cue the laugh track), China’s “support for Russia’s defense industrial base” and its “unfair trade policies,” and so on. According to Beijing, however, Xi “stressed” that Taiwan was a “red line that must not be crossed.” He threatened that “in the face” of (supposed U.S.) efforts to encourage Taiwan independence, “China is not going to sit on its hands.”
Who ya gonna believe? The Post editors assess the parties’ credibility. They don’t link to the readouts, which I have tracked down in the links above (with a little help from Politico’s story in finding Beijing’s summary). There’s no arguing with the Post’s final judgment: “Whether it’s words or actions, the bottom line remains: Xi bullies, and Biden just blathers.”
