In Hiroshima, the US President is not only looking at Ukraine – but also at Taiwan. There will be an answer if the status quo changes unilaterally, he announces.
US President Joe Biden has warned China against military action against Taiwan.
After the conclusion of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Biden told a news conference that there should be no unilateral change in the status quo in the Straits of Taiwan. “There is a clear understanding among most of our allies that if China moves unilaterally, there will be a response.”
Biden: US continues to pursue one-China policy
He assured that the US continued to pursue a one-China policy. After that, Beijing will be recognized as the legitimate government of China. However, Biden pointed out that neither China nor Taiwan could then act independently of each other: “It has to be an amicable outcome.” The US also did not expect Taiwan to declare independence of its own accord.
Beijing regards the democratic island republic as part of the People’s Republic and is threatening to conquer it. Taiwan, on the other hand, has had an independent government for more than 70 years. Tensions had recently increased. Biden assured that the US will continue to help Taiwan defend itself. He emphasized that he sees no “inevitability” that there will be a war between China and the USA or between Japan and South Korea.
In the frosty relationship with Beijing, Biden nevertheless expects a “thaw” “very soon”, without giving details. Since the launch of a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the United States and the subsequent cancellation of a visit to China by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the two sides have hardly spoken to each other. Blinken is trying to make up for his visit to China. According to press reports, however, Beijing is not willing to try to make contact.
G7 China strategy
After the seven major democracies (G7) took a tougher stance on China at their summit, Biden said: “We will not decouple from China. We are looking to de-risk and diversify relations with China.” Supply chains should be set up so diverse that there is “no dependency on one country”.
The United States also wanted to protect technology that was important to its security. He told state and party leader Xi Jinping that he was not prepared to trade certain things because he was using them to build nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. “I won’t do that.” Now there is also an obligation on the allies not to do this either. “This is not a hostile act.”
Sunak: China is the greatest challenge of our time
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has issued strong warnings that China poses a growing threat to the international order. “China is the greatest challenge of our time to global security and global prosperity,” Sunak said on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima. “They are increasingly authoritarian at home and brash abroad.” At the same time, the conservative head of government emphasized that it was about “risk reduction” and not about “decoupling”.
But the G7 are taking steps to prevent China from interfering in the sovereign affairs of others through economic coercion, Sunak said. Great Britain is in line with its allies.
Sunak is repeatedly criticized in Great Britain for being too lax about China. Most recently, he retracted his announcement that he would shut down the 30 so-called Confucius Institutes in Britain, which are sponsored by China and critics say are spreading propaganda and spying on students.
In an interview with British broadcaster ITV in Hiroshima, Sunak described China as an “epochal systemic challenge” and again warned that it was “the only country with both the needs and the intention to reshape the global order”. The prime minister also pointed out that London had blocked Chinese investment in sensitive sectors such as semiconductors in the UK.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
