November 14, 2022
United States President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Bali, Indonesia, on November 14. It was their first in-person meeting since President Biden assumed office. President Biden stated that the US “one China policy” has not changed, that it opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo by either side, and that the world has an interest in the maintenance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. He also conveyed US objections to China’s coercive and increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan, which undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the broader region and jeopardize global prosperity. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (Taiwan) expresses its appreciation and sincere thanks to President Biden for again publicly declaring resolute US support for the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and its commitment to Taiwan’s security during his meeting with the Chinese leader.
Since assuming office, the Biden administration has reiterated its rock-solid commitment to Taiwan’s security on multiple occasions. Since August, it has highlighted the common position of the international community on preserving cross-strait peace and stability through statements issued either individually or jointly with like-minded nations at various international events. At a bilateral meeting between the US and Australian leaders as well as a trilateral meeting between the US, Japanese, and Republic of Korea leaders, both held on November 13, the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait was restated. Taiwan is a responsible member of the Indo-Pacific democratic community. At this critical time, when authoritarian nations are blatantly challenging the international order, Taiwan will continue to actively strengthen its self-defense capabilities and deepen its security partnership with the United States. Taiwan will also cooperate closely with like-minded countries to jointly counter coercion by authoritarian regimes; safeguard peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait; ensure a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific; and defend the rules-based international order.
White House press release excerpt:
“On Taiwan, he laid out in detail that our one China policy has not changed, the United States opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo by either side, and the world has an interest in the maintenance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. He raised U.S. objections to the PRC’s coercive and increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan, which undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the broader region, and jeopardize global prosperity.”