US President Joe Biden will speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday (July 28) amid fresh tensions over Taiwan, according to people familiar with the matter.

Earlier on Tuesday, the White House said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a likely topic during the call.

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White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that managing economic competition between the two countries would also be a focus of the call.

But tariffs are not likely to be discussed, he said.

“I wouldn’t think it would be a major topic of discussion with President Xi unless or until he makes a decision,” Mr Kirby said of the tariffs.

It will be the fifth call between the leaders, and comes as China has delivered heightened warnings to the Biden administration about a possible visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to democratically governed Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory.

“Everything from the tensions over Taiwan, to the war in Ukraine, as well as how we better manage competition between our two nations, certainly in the economic sphere,” Mr Kirby said of the topics to be discussed.

“This is a call that has been scheduled for a long time and there’s already a pretty robust agenda of things for these two leaders to talk about,” he said.

Under its “one-China” policy, the United States does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but is bound by US law to provide the island with the means to defend itself. The White House has been quick to reiterate that stance has not changed despite speculation over a possible trip by Mrs Pelosi.

Mr Kirby said that Mrs Pelosi is in the line of succession to the presidency and as such, her overseas travel was a matter of US national security. But only she could make decisions about her travel.

“Bellicosity” in rhetoric from Beijing over the potential trip only escalates tensions, he said.

“We find that unhelpful and certainly not in the least bit necessary given the situation,” he said.

The administration has been debating whether to lift some tariffs on Chinese goods as a way to boost the US economy, but Mr Kirby said a decision was not expected ahead of the call.

Mr Biden could head into the call with momentum if the US Congress passes legislation to provide about US$52 billion (S$70 billion) in subsidies for the US semiconductor industry, as well as an investment tax credit for chip plants estimated to be worth US$24 billion, which Mr Biden has urged as crucial for competing with China economically.

The Senate is expected to vote on final passage in coming days and the US House could follow suit as soon as later this week.

‘Provocations’
The prospect of Mrs Pelosi’s trip is only one in a long list of disagreements plaguing frayed US-China relations.

Earlier on Tuesday, senior US officials accused China of increased “provocations” against rival territorial claimants in the South China Sea and said “aggressive and irresponsible behaviour” by Chinese ships and aircraft meant it was only a matter of time before a major incident or accident.

A trip by Mrs Pelosi would be the first by a House speaker since 1997, and China has said it is prepared to take strong measures in response.

Mr Daniel Russel, who served as the top US diplomat for Asia under former president Barack Obama, said the Taiwan issue had the makings of a real crisis, without any US-China mechanism to prevent that from escalating into conflict.

He said it was not clear how much pressure the Biden administration was exerting on Mrs Pelosi, but Mr Xi was likely to push hard on the issue in the call, and added: “We are in a high-risk moment and it behooves leaders in both countries to tread carefully.”

Nonetheless, Mr Craig Singleton, a senior China fellow at the Washington-based Foundation for Defence of Democracies, said Mr Xi would likely seek to project calm as he faces a slowing economy under pressure from strict domestic Covid-19 measures ahead of a key Communist Party Congress in the fall.

“While Xi will be clear and direct in raising China’s objections about Speaker Pelosi’s trip, he will probably not allow that one issue to derail the entire conversation, as doing so would further complicate his already difficult governing agenda,” Mr Singleton said.

(ANN / The Straits Times)