According to CCTV, Xi Jinping called Biden on the 22nd to express condolences to Biden’s illness. Xi Jinping said on the phone that he learned that Mr. President has been infected with the new crown, and I would like to express my sincere condolences to you and hope that you will recover quickly.
Some netizens said: Is this the weasel giving New Year’s greetings to the chicken? Or the cat crying the mouse? or something else? Some netizens said: condolences when you have a cold? If things go wrong, there will be demons.
Xi Jinping’s phone call at this time attracted considerable attention from the outside world, because Biden just revealed that he was planning to speak with Xi Jinping in the next 10 days. And this call may involve issues that the CCP has been paying attention to, Biden’s plan to reduce some Chinese tariffs, and the current tense situation in the Taiwan Strait.
Times commentator Lan stated that the CCP is facing three problems this year: the first is the continuation of the power of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China; That is, in the international arena, especially the dilemma faced in diplomatic relations with the West.
“The CCP has always been in command of politics, so the power and continuation of the 20 major congresses faced by his party is his top priority. Under the circumstance that the three tasks cannot be accomplished at the same time, the CCP’s economic There should be some relaxation in foreign affairs and diplomacy. This time Xi Jinping took the initiative to contact Biden, that is, to ease relations with the West, and he is a major manifestation of the relaxation on the diplomatic front.” Lan Shu said.
Since the call between Xi and Xi in March this year, the tension between the United States and China, especially the sharp confrontation over the Taiwan issue, has not eased, but has intensified.
As soon as news of Pelosi’s planned visit to Taiwan in August came out, Beijing was outraged. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian threatened that if Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan comes true, Beijing will make a tough response and countermeasures, and demand that the United States take full responsibility. Hu Xijin, the former editor-in-chief of the Global Times, even threatened to send the CCP’s special plane “accompanying” Pelosi to cross Taiwan’s airspace.
A few days ago, Biden suddenly revealed that the US military believes that it is not a good idea for Pelosi to visit Taiwan at this time. Pelosi’s regular reporter on the 21st refused to answer questions about whether she was about to visit Taiwan, citing “security”. She responded that Biden meant that the military might be concerned that the plane would be shot down by China or something. Some netizens said: It is estimated that the trip to Taiwan will be cool.
According to a report by CNN on July 22, a U.S. official said that Biden administration officials are worried that in order to prevent Pelosi from visiting Taiwan, China may declare a no-fly zone over Taiwan before Pelosi visits Taiwan. The official also said that Beijing could send fighter jets to further intrude on Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, which could trigger a reaction from the United States and Taiwan. However, he did not elaborate on how the US and Taiwan might react.
However, some experts pointed out that although Hu Xijin, the former editor-in-chief of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the official media Global Times, made threats, the probability of Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan being in line with American public opinion is still very high.
Zheng Qinmo, director of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Relations at Tamkang University, said that Zhao Lijian and Hu Xijin’s speeches were basically for the Chinese to listen to, and Hu Xijin’s speech threatened Pelosi if he visited Taiwan to accompany the plane, but instead made it worse. Everyone heard that “the CCP has never exercised its sovereignty over Taiwan, such a thing exists.”
Zheng Qinmo mentioned that Taiwan has geopolitical importance. Although the CCP is clamoring for ways to prevent Pelosi from visiting Taiwan, the Democratic Party is facing pressure from the mid-term elections. Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan is a demonstration of the United States‘ support for Taiwan. The strong attitude of the CCP and its overall dominance in the Western Pacific are in line with American public opinion.
“Because American public opinion is mainly anti-communist, democratic countries have to take public opinion into consideration after all, her visit to Taiwan is helpful for the Democratic Party’s election,” Zheng Qinmo emphasized, “It’s not just Pelosi who came to Taiwan, the current vice president of the European Parliament is in Taiwan visit.” He believes that the probability of Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan is high.
It is unclear whether Biden’s plans for a phone call with Xi over the next 10 days will change. If Pelosi really plans to visit Taiwan, will she be intimidated by the CCP’s threats? This is undoubtedly an important weather vane for observing the Sino-US game and the trend of the situation in the Taiwan Strait.