Xi-Biden Call “Not About Carrots” But Laying Out What “Consequences” For China Would Be: Psaki

“President Biden detailed our efforts to prevent and then respond to the invasion, including by imposing costs on Russia. He described the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia as it conducts brutal attacks against Ukrainian cities and civilians,” the White House said.

“China has to make a decision for themselves about where they want to stand, and how they want the history books to look at them and view their actions,” press secretary Jen Psaki said in the afternoon daily briefing.

“This was not about carrots. This was about laying out what the implications and consequences would be,” Psaki said of the call.

“China has to make a decision for themselves about where they want to stand, and how they want the history books to look at them and view their actions,” press sec. Psaki tells @marykbruce about Pres. Biden’s conversation with Chinese Pres. Xi. https://t.co/dQCSsgOO8r pic.twitter.com/JbXRMZId5w

— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) March 18, 2022

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki is expected to brief reporters on the Biden-Xi phone call which started just after 9am and wrapped up nearly two hours later. While Beijing was quick to issue its official short summary readout, which reportedly came out a full 20 minutes before the phone call was complete, the White House belatedly issued a call summary shortly before 3pm – after the talk concluded hours ago.

So far both sides have reportedly acknowledged a “constructive” discussion, focusing on Ukraine, but also with Xi pushing the Taiwan issue, warning Washington not to pursue a pro-independence agenda or else there will be a “subversive” impact. Watch Live:

One interesting highlight from China’s readout is that Xi told Biden that NATO and Russia should hold direct talks to resolve the Ukraine crisis.

In the meantime, Paris has announced that French President Macron has held another phone call with Putin. So far after multiple such calls by the French leader attempting to halt Russian operations in Ukraine there have been no breakthroughs. 

Here’s the full text of the just issued White House call readout:

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The conversation focused on Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. President Biden outlined the views of the United States and our Allies and partners on this crisis. President Biden detailed our efforts to prevent and then respond to the invasion, including by imposing costs on Russia. He described the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia as it conducts brutal attacks against Ukrainian cities and civilians. The President underscored his support for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis. The two leaders also agreed on the importance of maintaining open lines of communication, to manage the competition between our two countries. The President reiterated that U.S. policy on Taiwan has not changed, and emphasized that the United States continues to oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo. The two leaders tasked their teams to follow up on today’s conversation in the critical period ahead.

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