Secret talks: What Xi really wanted from Biden about Taiwan stance

Last fall Xi Jinping approached Joe Biden with an unusual request - to change how US talks about Taiwan. During their San-Fran meeting Xi wanted US to say they “oppose“ rather than “dont support“ Taiwan independence (a small but significant word-change that could mean big things)

The Chinese side didnt stop there: after the meeting Xiʼs team kept pushing for this change through diplomatic channels. However US officials — who stick to their long-standing policy on Taiwan since 70s — werent interested in changing their words. “We have been clear about our position“ a high-level source said; the White House keeps using its standard dont-support language

China has been super-active around Taiwan lately: their military does stuff there almost daily. Just this month they ran war-games with lots of planes and ships (like 150+ aircraft at once which is kinda crazy). The whole situation goes back to when mainland China and Taiwan split up after a civil war: now Beijing says its their territory but Taiwan runs its own show

The timing of Xiʼs request is interesting — with upcoming changes in US leadership and regional meetings. Both leaders might meet again at:
* G20 summit in Brazil
* APEC meeting in Peru
* Phone call before Jan

This language thing matters because it could change how other countries see US support for Taiwan. Most Taiwan people want things to stay as they are: not joining China but not declaring independence either. The State dept even had to fix their website in 22 after removing some Taiwan-related words that made Beijing mad