opposed any unilateral moves that would change the island s status or undermine stability across the taiwan straits. president xi said: those who play with fire will only get burnt. joe biden responded to that by saying 0n taiwan, the us policy has not changed. so where does that leave diplomatic relations? with an assessment of that phone call, here s the bbc s barbara plett usher in washington. the chinese are pretty blunt about their position on taiwan and that readout said that xijinping had emphasised that position, which is that taiwan is part of china and there is no room for taiwanese independence, that he had told president biden that they should stick with the one china policy. that means basically that washington recognises that there is only one chinese government and that it is in beijing, but it only acknowledges china s position on taiwan and it says that the status of taiwan should not be decided by force and there had been some question for some time
taiwan, that is a misunderstanding. us policy has not changed. misunderstanding. us policy has not changed- not changed. thank you very much indeed not changed. thank you very much indeed for not changed. thank you very much indeed forjoining - not changed. thank you very much indeed forjoining us. | to ukraine now where soldiers on the frontlines are saying that the rate of russia s bombardment of the eastern part of territory has dropped by at least a half thanks to the arrival of sophisticated western weaponry. is it, though, merely a lull in the fighting, this or a sign that the tide is turning in the conflict? andrew harding sent us this report. the familiar sounds of war thunder across ukraine s front lines. but something is changing here in the donbas. we re rushing to a secret location and a rare rendezvous with a weapon that mightjust be helping to tip the balance in this war. the caesar is a gift from france to ukraine. today, its giant gun
talk specifically about that, about nancy pelosi s trip but certainly president biden has made it clear that the timing, at least, whether or not a visit by the speaker of the house to taiwan might in other circumstances be a reasonable or positive move it is clear from the white house that the administration does not think the timing of this visit is a good idea. and in his conversation with president xi today, president biden said that us policy toward taiwan has not changed. and i think thatis has not changed. and i think that is a way of saying, you know, if you are perceiving, as we understand, that there are some leadership. speaker policy s visit as some kind of indication that the united states is working to embolden
in the last decade. president biden has spent more than two hours on the phone with his chinese counterpart, xijinping. the two leaders both issued warnings about taiwan, which has once again emerged as a key point of tension, following reports of a possible visit there by the us house speaker nancy pelosi. although the visit hasn t been confirmed, mr biden told mr xi that washington strongly opposed any unilateral moves that would change the island s status, or undermine stability across the taiwan straits. president xi said: joe biden responded to that
eagerfor the united states and political figures within the united states to show support for taiwan but they also know that they are at the front line, you know? they are the immediate target of beijing s activity and so on the one hand, you know, they appreciate gestures of support like this but on the other hand i think there is a certain understanding that if the us is not careful, taiwan could actually be put in a tight spot. actually be put in a tight sot. , , ., , , actually be put in a tight sot. , , ., spot. is there, perhaps, a decree spot. is there, perhaps, a degree of spot. is there, perhaps, a degree of cultural - degree of cultural misunderstanding at play here in the sense that it may be difficult to convince the leader of a i party state that joe biden does not actually have the authority to prevent nancy pelosi from going to taiwan? ,, ., , taiwan? sure. that is definitely taiwan? sure. that is definitely part - taiwan? sure. that is definitely part of- taiwan? sur