China blasted US President Joe Biden for lying about the more than two-hour call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday and threatened to launch major military exercises following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit.
Late Tuesday, Nancy Pelosi landed in Taipei, making her the highest-profile American official to visit the island in a quarter of a century.
However, shortly after her arrival, China declared that they will hold major military exercises around Taiwan this week.
According to China’s announcement, the People’s Liberation Army will hold live-fire drills exercises using live ammunition at several points across Taiwan. The areas will include the east coast where the PLA is much more active over the past year.
China’s warning also came after the PLA staged air and sea manoeuvres in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea early this week. They also launched a string of military drills in other coastal areas prior to Pelosi’s flight to Taiwan.
“From the evening of August 2, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army will begin a series of joint military operations. These operations are meant as a stern deterrent against the severe increase of negative moves from the US regarding the Taiwan question and a severe warning against ‘Taiwan independence’ forces to conspire for ‘independence’.” The PLA said in its announcement.
Moreover, after Pelosi arrived in Taiwan, the 82-year old Democrats released a statement claiming that her visit “honours America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant democracy—as the world faces a choice between autocracy and democracy.”
Amid Pelosi’s trip, Chinese Foreign Minister Lijian Zhao accused the White House of lying about Biden bringing up genocide, forced labor on call w/ Xi, saying that the claim was “pure lies” and “false information.”
“Pure lies… White House spokesperson said the issues of genocide and forced labor were mentioned in the call last night, that is false information.” Zhao said.
Zhao’s statement comes after White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced during the press conference that President Biden spoke with Xi about genocide and forced labor practices.
Some reports also supported Zhao’s claim against Jean-Pierre after a US official revealed, speaking on condition of anonymity that Biden and Xi “discussed the value of meeting face-to-face and agreed to have their teams follow up to find a mutually agreeable time to do so,” in a call which lasted two hours and 17 minutes.
