Joe Biden has dispatched US envoy Jake Sullivan to talk with China's foreign policy adviser amid rising tensions over Taiwan.
Almost 150 Chinese warplanes have breached Taiwan's airspace since Friday, including 56 jets on Monday in a dramatic escalation of aggression.
Sullivan will meet with senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi in Zurich, Switzerland, later today after the White House criticised Beijing for the recent military harassment of self-governed Taiwan.
The talks are to be a follow-up on Biden's call with President Xi Jinping last month as the administration continues 'to seek to responsibly manage the competition' between the two countries, the White House said in a statement.
Biden on Tuesday sought to reassure Taiwan as he told reporters: 'I've spoken with Xi about Taiwan. We agree ... we'll abide by the Taiwan agreement.'
However, he was referring to a call with the Chinese president on September 9 and tensions have risen significantly in recent days.
President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he has spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping (pictured with Biden in 2013) about Taiwan and they agreed to abide by the Taiwan agreement, as tensions have ratcheted up between Taipei and Beijing
Biden's (pictured leaving Michigan on October 5, 2021) comments came after the president returned from a trip to Michigan to hawk his $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and the larger budget bill at a union hall
The agreement he was referring to was Washington's long-standing 'one-China policy' where the country will officially recognize Beijing rather than Taipei, and the Taiwan Relations Act - which makes it clear that the US decision to establish diplomatic ties with Beijing instead of Taiwan depends on the expectation that the future of Taiwan - will be determined by peaceful means.
The call was the first the two presidents had in seven months and they discussed the need to ensure that competition between the world's two largest economies does not veer into conflict.
Biden's comments came after the president returned from a trip to Michigan to hawk his $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and the larger budget bill at a union hall.
At the same time, the Taiwan-China relationship has been escalating and China warned yesterday that World War III could be triggered 'at any time' after it sent dozens of warplanes into Taiwan's airspace.
Currently, China claims Taiwan as its own territory but Taiwan says it's an independent country that will defend its freedoms and democracy, blaming China for the tensions.
Xi said Taiwan will be taken by force if necessary. A reported 148 Chinese air force planes were in the southern and southwestern part of Taiwan's air defense zone over a four-day period beginning on Friday - the same day China marked a key patriotic holiday, National Day.
An article in the state-backed Global Times newspaper said that 'collusion' between the US and Taiwan was so 'audacious' that the situation 'has almost lost any room for maneuver, teetering on the edge of a face-off'.
It claimed that the people of China were ready to back all-out war with the US, which backs Taiwan, warning the island nation against 'playing with fire'.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday vowed to 'do whatever it takes' to guard Taiwan against invasion as she indicated that without help from the country's allies 'authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy.'
Nearly 150 Chinese warplanes have breached Taiwan's airspace since Friday, including nuclear-capable bombers on Monday in a dramatic increase in aggression
Chinese President Xi Jinping (pictured in Beijing on September 30, 2021) claims Taiwan as China's territory but Taiwan says it's an independent country that will defend its freedoms and democracy, blaming China for the tensions
President Tsai Ing-wen (pictured in October 2020 in Taipei) vowed to 'do whatever it takes' to guard Taiwan against invasion as she warned that if the country's allies allowed it to fall 'it would signal that authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy'
'They should remember that if Taiwan were to fall, the consequences would be catastrophic for regional peace and the democratic alliance system.
'It would signal that in today's global contest of values, authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy,' he added.
On Sunday, the US urged China to stop its military activities near Taiwan.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement on Sunday: 'The United States is very concerned by the People's Republic of China's provocative military activity near Taiwan, which is destabilizing, risks miscalculations, and undermines regional peace and stability.'
China warned that World War Three could be triggered 'at any time' on Tuesday after it sent dozens of warplanes into Taiwan's airspace. Recent voyages through the Strait of Taiwan by the British and American navies (pictured) - coupled with the new Aukus defense pact - have infuriated Beijing and sparked more shows of strength in the South China Sea
Pictured: Britain's HMS Queen Elizabeth warship (second right at the head of the armada) took part in joint training with warships from six different countries over the weekend in the Philippine Sea amid rising tensions between China and Taiwan
A Taiwan flag was carried across the sky on Tuesday during a National Day rehearsal in Taipei, Taiwan (pictured)
Meanwhile, Beijing has been infuriated by activity of US and UK navies in the region.
Britain's HMS Queen Elizabeth was spotted sailing in the Philippine Sea in a joint exercise with two US aircraft carriers - the USS Ronald Reagan and USS Carl Vinson - and Japan's helicopter destroyer JS Ise.
The armada, which also includes a number of warships from six different countries in total, trained together over the weekend in the region amid the rising tensions.
The recent voyages through the Strait of Taiwan by the British and American navies - coupled with the new Aukus defense pact - have infuriated Beijing and sparked more shows of strength in the South China Sea.
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