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West vs. China Conflict Avoidable, Says Biden

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West vs. China Conflict Avoidable, Says Biden,Wrapping up a three-day summit with allies of the Group of Seven leading democracies, U.S. President Joe Biden sought to reassure China that conflict with the West is avoidable, even as the G7 ramps up pressure to push back against Beijing’s rising military and economic security threats.

“I don’t think there’s anything inevitable about the notion that there’s going to be this conflict” between the West and Beijing, Biden said during a Sunday news conference in Hiroshima, Japan, at the conclusion of the summit.

Biden, however, underscored that the G7 and other regional partners are aligned to push back against Beijing’s aggression, including its potential invasion of Taiwan. “I think we’re more united than we’ve ever been in the Pacific,” he said.

“We all agree we’re going to maintain the One China policy,” Biden said, referring to the policy under which the United States recognizes Beijing as representing China, and acknowledges Beijing’s view that it has sovereignty over Taiwan without endorsing it. Under the policy, Washington considers Taiwan’s status as unsettled.

Neither China nor Taiwan “can independently declare what they’re going to do, period,” Biden said, referring to the Taiwan’s status quo. “There has to be a mutually agreed new outcome.”

While Western allies “don’t expect Taiwan to independently declare independence,” Biden warned China against invading the self-governing island that Beijing considers a breakaway province.

“There is clear understanding among most of our allies, that in fact, if China were to act unilaterally, there would be a response,” he warned. “There would be a response.”

Biden’s comments came as G7 countries amplified their denunciation of China’s rising military and economic security threats.

In the summit’s communique, the group criticized China for its use of “economic coercion,” militarization of the South China Sea and “interference activities” aimed at undermining the safety of diplomats, the integrity of democratic institutions and economic prosperity.

Beijing swiftly hit back, accusing the G7 of using “issues concerning China to smear and attack China and brazenly interfere in China’s internal affairs.”

“Taiwan is China’s Taiwan,” said a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson in a statement. “Resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese, a matter that must be resolved by the Chinese.”

West vs. China Conflict Avoidable, Says Biden
West vs. China Conflict Avoidable, Says Biden

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