Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday reiterated that the U.S. wants to avoid confrontation with China.
"Let me be direct about the competition between the United States and China. As we manage shifting geopolitical trends, the United States will conduct itself as a reasonable leader," Biden said at the 77th Session of the UNGA.
"We do not seek conflict. We do not seek a cold war. We do not ask any nation to choose between the United States or any other partner," he said.
"We seek to uphold peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits," said Biden. "We remain committed to our one-China policy, which has helped prevent conflict for four decades. And we continue to oppose unilateral changes in the status quo by either side."
Biden's speech came three days after he said in a CBS 60 Minutes interview broadcast on Sunday that U.S. forces would defend Taiwan.
Last week, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the "Taiwan Policy Act of 2022" to boost military support for Taiwan.
Biden had made the commitment that the U.S. does not seek a new Cold War with China, does not aim to change China's system, does not support "Taiwan independence", that the revitalization of U.S. alliances is not targeted at China and that it has no intention of seeking conflict with China, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Monday.
However, the U.S. side's words and deeds all run counter to Biden's commitment, Wang said during his meeting with former U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger on the sidelines of the UNGA on Monday.
Wang urged the U.S. to adopt a rational and pragmatic China policy and to properly handle the Taiwan question during his meeting with Kissinger.
He criticized U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the Taiwan region in August, the approval of the "Taiwan Policy Act of 2022", and U.S. officials' remarks about intervening militarily to defend Taiwan. He said all of these pose serious challenges to the three China-U.S. joint communiques and severely damaged the political foundation of the bilateral ties.
Wang stressed that the U.S. must seriously honor the one-China principle and take a clear-cut approach to oppose and contain "Taiwan independence" if it has intentions of upholding peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.
Kissinger said it should be fully recognized that the Taiwan question is extremely important to China. The United States and China should seek dialogue rather than confrontation and should forge peacefully coexistent bilateral ties.
Wang also reiterated the priority of the Taiwan question during his meeting with Britain's Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs James Cleverly on Tuesday.
Britain should honor its pledge that Taiwan is part of the People's Republic of China, and unequivocally oppose "Taiwan independence", Wang said on the sidelines of the ongoing UNGA.
Cleverly said that Britain's position on the Taiwan question remains unchanged.
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