President Biden Ensures US Tensions With China Disburse Soon

JAKARTTA - United States President Joe Biden said he believed tensions between the US and China would "state to melt"

In a press conference in Hiroshima, reported by ANTARA, Monday, May 22, Biden expressed his disappointment over the incident of Chinese spy balloons at the beginning of the year undermined the momentum to facilitate communication between senior officials of the two countries.

He said previous agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping regarding the importance of implementing military hotlines quickly deteriorated after balloon controversy as tensions escalated.

"I think you'll see the situation will melt as soon as possible," Biden said before leaving the Japanese city, where he attended the Group of Seven summit and held a meeting with many country leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In early February, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken suddenly postponed his plans to visit Beijing after Washington detected what it described as a Chinese spy balloon moving over a sensitive US continent area.

The trip was meant to follow up on Biden and Xi Jinping's face-to-face meetings in November last year. This will be the first minister-level official visit to China from Washington since the start of the current US administration in 2021.

There were no signs of tensions easing, but White House Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Wang Yi, China's top diplomats, held hours-long "free" discussions on the main issue in Vienna earlier this month.

At the time, the US and Chinese governments said they agreed to keep lines of communication open.

In a press conference before his return, Biden also mentioned Taiwan, the main source of China's dispute with the US. He stressed that Washington's centuries-old policy on the democratic island has not changed, suggesting the US did not expect Taiwan to "independently" declare its territory, sovereign and independent countries.

"We will continue to put Taiwan where they can defend themselves and there is a clear understanding among our allies that the fact that China is acting unilaterally, they will respond," he continued.

Commemorating the four-day period in Hiroshima, Biden said he was in the city and visited a number of places such as the Peace Commemoration Museum is a "strong reminder of the reality of our devastating nuclear war and shared responsibility for never stopping our efforts to build peace."

Biden said he and other G-7 leaders emphasized the "commitment to continue working towards a world free from the threat of nuclear weapons."