Yellen says Biden, Xi remain far apart on Taiwan's independence post-APEC

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Monday that U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping remained acold isolated connected the presumption of Taiwan aft their high-profile meeting past week during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation league successful San Francisco.

"President Xi did explicit the presumption that it's important for Taiwan and mainland China to unify. He surely expressed the tendency to person that hap by peaceful means," Yellen said connected CNBC's "Squawk Box." "But President Biden said our argumentation remains unchanged from what it's ever been with respect to Taiwan."

The U.S. recognizes the People's Republic of China arsenic the sole authorities of China but besides maintains that Taiwan is a self-governing territory, contempt China's claims to the contrary.

Even aft their talks past week, Biden and Xi's deadlock connected the contented could person subject ramifications, contempt Xi's insistence that helium does not privation subject conflict.

Already, Taiwanese officials person reported escalating Chinese subject enactment astir the land successful caller months. In September, Taiwan's defence curate said China was operating dozens of warships, drones, bombers and much nearby. Officials fearfulness that China's subject enactment astir Taiwan could pb to accidental confrontation and detonate into a full-fledged conflict.

U.S. subject officials person warned that China could beryllium acceptable to motorboat an onslaught against Taiwan by 2027. They person criticized the U.S. for not providing enough subject support to Taiwan to deter China.

"Deterring a Chinese penetration of Taiwan volition necessitate turning the land into a porcupine, stockpiled with an arsenal of weapons that tin people the Chinese fleet," U.S. officials wrote successful an October missive to the U.S. navy secretary. "Bureaucratic delays wrong the Navy are...undermining efforts to forestall war."

Biden has projected a $105 cardinal assistance package, chiefly for Ukraine and Israel warring their ain respective wars, which includes a specified $2 cardinal for Taiwan and broader Indo-Pacific information measures.

Yellen said Monday that bundle is "critical to the nationalist information of America."

But immoderate magnitude of U.S. enactment for Taiwan's independency puts relations with China, which believes that it has a close to govern Taiwan, connected shaky ground.

When erstwhile U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan successful a amusement of enactment for the country's sovereignty successful Aug. 2022, China suspended subject connection with the U.S. Without that unfastened communication, U.S. and China naval and aerial forces person had respective close-call confrontations.

Last week astatine their meeting, Biden and Xi agreed to revive military-to-military communication, though they inactive disagree connected the presumption of Taiwan.

"We support the statement that determination is simply a One China argumentation and I'm not going to alteration that, that's not going to change. That's astir the grade to which we discussed," Biden said astatine a property league past week, hours aft helium met with Xi.

Last Wednesday was the archetypal meeting betwixt Biden and Xi successful a year. It was an important measurement to reestablish astatine slightest the quality of practice betwixt the 2 countries aft a tumultuous twelvemonth of spy balloons, trade disagreement and near-miss subject incidents that chilled U.S.-China communication.

Besides the Taiwan issue, Yellen said that the 2 leaders besides discussed practice connected fentanyl regulation, artificial intelligence, clime alteration and the bilateral economical relationship.

In the week starring up to APEC, Yellen met with her Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, wherever they talked broadly astir immoderate of the aforesaid topics. Yellen said she plans to sojourn China adjacent year.