Biden, China's Xi hold phone call on Taiwan, AI, trade

Biden last met with Xi in person in November

President Biden held a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time since July 2022 on Tuesday, the White House announced.

The White House has yet to offer details about the call, but Biden and Xi were expected to discuss Taiwan, narcotics, artificial intelligence, and China's support for Russia against Ukraine. The White House described the conversation as merely a "check-in" between the two leaders.

Biden was not expected to bring up TikTok or the origins of COVID-19. Biden currently supports legislation in Congress that would ban TikTok unless it is sold to a company that is not beholden to the Chinese Communist Party.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby is expected to answer questions regarding the call during a press conference later Tuesday.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping

President Biden will hold a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time since July 2022 on Tuesday, the White House says. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Biden last spoke with Xi in person in November, their first public interaction since Biden took to referring to Xi as a "dictator" in June of last year. Biden used the term after the U.S. shot down a Chinese spy craft on the East Coast after allowing it to traverse the continental U.S.

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Biden again referred to Xi as a dictator in November last year as conversation around Taiwan heated up.

President Joe Biden

Biden last spoke with Xi in-person in November, their first public interaction since Biden took to referring to Xi as a "dictator" in June last year. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying issued a blunt warning at the time about America's friendly relations with Taiwan, referring to the "Taiwan question" as "the most important and most sensitive issue in China-U.S. relations."

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"The U.S. side should take real actions to honor its commitment of not supporting ‘Taiwan independence’, stop arming Taiwan, and support China’s peaceful reunification. China will realize reunification, and this is unstoppable," she wrote in a post on X.

Presidents Xi-and Biden

U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 leaders' summit in Bali, Indonesia, November 14, 2022. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo)

Biden has stated repeatedly in the past that the U.S. would intervene if China were to invade Taiwan, but the White House has walked back that statement each time.

Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.

Authored by Anders Hagstrom via FoxNews April 2nd 2024