A day after President Joe Biden went after China with his comments on Taiwan, Beijing fired back Friday. A spokesperson for the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the situation in Taiwan “purely an internal affair of China that allows no foreign intervention”.
“When it comes to issues related to China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and other core interests, there is no room for China to compromise or make concessions,” Wang Wenbin said. “No one should underestimate the strong determination, firm will and strong ability of the Chinese people to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The comments from China came after President Biden said it was an obligation of the U.S. to defend Taiwan if China attacked.
I don’t want a cold war with China,” Biden said at a Thursday night town hall. “I just want to make China understand that we are not going to step back. We are not going to change any of our views.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin emphasized what Biden said about America’s willingness to defend Taiwan against China in comments Austin made after a NATO defense ministers’ meeting in Brussels Friday.
“We remain committed to our one-China policy in keeping with Taiwan Relations Act,” Austin said. “As we’ve done over multiple administrations, we’ll continue to help Taiwan with the sorts of capabilities that it needs to defend itself.”
Also Friday, officials at the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) issued new warnings about China’s ambitions in artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies. The officials said these technologies could eventually give Beijing a decisive military edge, as well as dominance over health care and other essential sectors in America.
“While the democratization of such technologies can be beneficial, it can also be economically, militarily, and socially destabilizing,” the NCSC said in a new paper. “For this reason, advances in technologies such as computing, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and manufacturing warrant extra attention to anticipate the trajectories of emerging technologies and understand their implications for security.”
NCSC officials said they are trying to inform business executives, academics and local and state government officials about the risks of accepting Chinese investment or expertise in key industries. While the center is not recommending the rejection of Chinese investment, it will encourage efforts to control intellectual property and implement security measures.