Biden tells China’s Xi Jinping not to interfere in US election

On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden once again warned Chinese President Xi Jinping not to interfere in November’s U.S. presidential election during a phone call between the two leaders. The White House said the call was part of the United States’ efforts to maintain “open channels of communication to responsibly manage competition and prevent unintended conflicts.”

A senior administration official told reporters at a briefing on Monday that the United States has expressed “continued heightened concerns” about China’s interference in the election amid various contacts.

Biden last raised the issue when he met with Xi Jinping in Woodside, California, in November. Beijing has repeatedly stated that it has no intention of interfering in the internal affairs of the United States.

“I think we don’t really take the Chinese at their word when they say they will or won’t do something,” the senior administration official said. “This is for validation.”

Declassified U.S. Intelligence Threat assessment A warning issued in February said Beijing had “increased the sophistication of its influence activities,” including the use of generative artificial intelligence. The report warned of “increasing efforts to actively exploit divisions in American society” online.

“Spam is an ongoing China-linked influence operation that weaponizes political, economic and cultural wedge issues in the United States in its campaigns,” said Max Lesser, senior emerging threats analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Lesser told VOA the spam targeted Biden using specific issues. For example, the Spamouflage account shared a post sharing a Fox News article covering pro-Palestinian protests and added the comment “Biden’s defeat is a foregone conclusion.”

Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said in a statement to VOA that China “abide by the principle of non-interference” and that claims that Beijing influenced the U.S. presidential election are “complete fabrications.”

Leaders also reviewed progress on key issues discussed at the Woodside Summit, including counternarcotics cooperation to curb fentanyl trafficking, recently re-established military-to-military communications, addressing risks associated with artificial intelligence, and on climate change and human health issues s hard work.The White House said in its statement that it would strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges read out Calling.

US-Japan-Philippines Trilateral Summit

The call between Biden and Xi comes as the White House prepares for a trilateral summit, with Biden hosting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. next week.

The first “mini-multilateral” meeting will launch a series of initiatives, including strengthening maritime cooperation to counter China’s aggressive behavior in the South China Sea. Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, overlapping claims by the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.

Washington is concerned about recent clashes, with China stepping up its efforts to use water cannons on Philippine ships to disrupt resupply missions to Second Thomas Shoal. Philippine soldiers have been guarding a wrecked ship on the shoal since 1999 to assert the country’s claim to the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.

The purpose of the move is to make clear to Xi Jinping that the United States “will not stand idly by” if this gray zone coercion continues to escalate and could result in the deaths of Filipino sailors, Gregory Bolling told VOA at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Tuesday briefing. The poll guides the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Southeast Asia Program and the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.

Gray zone tactics refer to activities and operations that fall below the threshold of armed conflict between peace and war. China’s firing of water cannons is an example of gray zone operations because it did not trigger the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty.

The White House said Biden “stressed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait” as Taiwan prepares to take office as its new president next month. Beijing considers the self-ruled island to be its wayward province, and cross-strait issues have been one of the biggest sources of tension in the U.S.-China competition.

China’s malicious cyber activity is another key issue. Last month, the United States sanctioned China-linked hackers for targeting critical U.S. infrastructure. Wuhan Xiaoruizhi Technology Co., Ltd., or Wuhan XRZ, is a front company for China’s Ministry of State Security that “provides cover for multiple malicious cyber operations.” government said.

The official highlighted ongoing diplomatic engagement, including a visit to China by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in the coming days and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the coming weeks. The United States and China also plan to hold dialogue on artificial intelligence risk management in the coming weeks.

The leaders also discussed other regional and global issues, with Biden raising concerns about Beijing’s “support for Russia’s defense industrial base and its implications for European and transatlantic security,” the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and human rights protections in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

Paris Huang contributed to this report.