On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “OutFront,” host Erin Burnett stated that it’s clear that China’s Xi Jinping “does not care what Biden says” on Taiwan.
During an interview with New York Times columnist Tom Friedman, Burnett said, “I mean, after the meeting, of course, as you know, Biden said that Xi understood the American position, which is that any conflict with China and Taiwan needs to be resolved peacefully, and then Biden said this.”
She then played a clip of Biden saying, “I’m convinced that he understood exactly what I was saying. I understood what he was saying.”
Burnett reacted, “Okay. But Xi said after the meeting that peace and an independent Taiwan are irreconcilable, peace and an independent Taiwan, irreconcilable. So, clearly, Xi does not care what Biden says, even if he understood it.”
Friedman responded that Xi “will care if he loses his biggest export markets in the United States and the European Union. That would be no joke. That’s what’s happened to Russia in a smaller way. That would be what happened to China in a much bigger way. So, again, one can’t read his mind, but I think that are clear deterrents to him acting in the near future, but, again, because of his own situation at home, he may feel the need to do something. I think we best serve Taiwan, though, we, America, by the less we talk about it the better” while quietly arming Taiwan strongly.
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett