The United States has affirmed that its policy towards Taiwan has not changed and that it opposes any threat to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. That’s according to a State Department readout of President Joe Biden’s recent call with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou says Washington reached out to Taipei to give a brief report soon after the call ended. She says that the US and Taiwan maintain positive relations, and that President Biden continues to support stability and security in Taiwan.
China’s readout of the call agrees that the United States said its Taiwan policy has not changed. But the readout does not mention the status quo. Instead, it says that the United States “does not support Taiwanese ‘independence.’”
While the US and Taiwan are close economic partners, they are not diplomatic allies. Washington says it does not support Taiwan independence, but it also opposes Beijing trying to take control of Taiwan by force.
Taiwan’s Presidential Office spokesperson Xavier Chang says Taiwan is grateful for US support and will continue to work closely with other like-minded countries. Chang says Taiwan has a global duty to maintain peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and it expects China to also uphold this responsibility.