US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the virtual meeting on March 18, 2022 (Photo: AFP/VNA)

The two presidents discussed a range of important issues and tasked their teams with following up on the conversation, in particular to address climate change and health security. President Biden underscored that US policy has not changed on Taiwan and that the US strongly opposes any unilateral effort to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

President Xi said that China and the US need to maintain communication on such important issues as coordinating macroeconomic policies, keeping global industrial and supply chains stable, and protecting global energy and food security.  He said the two sides need to work to de-escalate regional hotspots, rid the world of COVID-19 as soon as possible, reduce the risk of stagflation and recession, and safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order underpinned by international law.

President Xi clarified China's position on Taiwan and emphasized that three Sino-US joint communiqués embody political commitments made by both sides to the one-China principle as the main foundation of US-China relations.