Dozens of Chinese warplanes and multiple naval ships were reported around the island of Taiwan this week, the largest coordinated display this year.

At least 30 planes and nine ships were detected in Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) by the country's Ministry of National Defense (MND).

"30 PLA aircraft and 9 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 20 of the aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, middle line, and SW ADIZ," the Taiwanese MND announced via social media. "[Republic of China Armed Forces] have monitored the situation and employed appropriate force to respond."

"The Republic of China" is the official name of Taiwan, compared to its mainland, communist contemporary, the People's Republic of China.

The coordinated display of military force by the People's Liberation Army around Taiwan followed a phone call between leaders of the People's Republic of China and the United States.

President Biden held a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday – the first time the two have spoken since July 2022.

CHINA'S XI JINPING TELLS DUTCH PM THAT RESTRICTING TECHNOLOGY ACCESS WON'T STOP CHINA'S ADVANCE

The White House has yet to offer details about the call, but Biden and Xi were expected to discuss Taiwan, narcotics, artificial intelligence and China's support for Russia against Ukraine.

The White House described the conversation as merely a "check-in" between the two leaders.

Biden last spoke with Xi in person in November, their first public interaction since Biden took to referring to Xi as a "dictator" in June of last year. Biden used the term after the U.S. shot down a Chinese spy craft on the East Coast after allowing it to traverse the continental U.S.

Biden again referred to Xi as a dictator in November last year as conversation around Taiwan heated up.

Biden has stated repeatedly in the past that the U.S. would intervene if China were to invade Taiwan, but the White House has walked back the statement each time.

Biden, Xi call navigates Philippines and Taiwan tensions

U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

U.S. President Joe Biden sought to manage tensions over the South China Sea and Taiwan's May presidential inauguration in a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, their first direct talks since meeting in November.

Biden used the call to emphasize "the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea," the White House said in a statement.

Xi said ties between the China and the U.S. are beginning to stabilize, but warned that they could "slide into conflict or confrontation," according to China's official Xinhua news agency.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told a briefing after the call that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken would travel to China in the coming weeks. That follows a trip this week by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

The nearly two-hour call between the leaders - described by Kirby as "business-like" - comes ahead of meetings next week between Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos as China flexes its military might.

On Monday, a senior U.S. administration official said the U.S. and Chinese militaries would hold maritime talks this week in Honolulu. Washington has expressed concern over China's coast guard's use of water cannons on Philippines vessels near Second Thomas Shoal in a disputed section of the South China Sea.

An escalating diplomatic row and recent maritime run-ins between the two Asian countries has made it a potential flashpoint between the U.S. and China.

Beijing claims vast portions of the South China Sea, sometimes in direct opposition to international law.

"China seems determined to continue to run these gray zone operations, driving the U.S.-Philippine alliance and Philippines-Japan security ties closer, which we’ll see on display next week," said Gregory Poling, a South China Sea expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, referring to the trilateral summit in Washington.

'CREATING RISKS'

Xi and Biden also discussed U.S. efforts to block certain U.S. technologies, including advanced semiconductors, from export to China.

Xi warned Biden that the U.S. is "not de-risking but creating risks" by suppressing China's trade and technology development and adding new entities to U.S. sanctions lists.

Biden told Xi the U.S. "will continue to take necessary actions to prevent advanced U.S. technologies from being used to undermine our national security, without unduly limiting trade and investment," according to the White House.

Kirby said Biden broached U.S. concerns about popular social media app TikTok, which faces proposed U.S. legislation that would force its Chinese-owner ByteDance to divest over data security and disinformation concerns.

"He made it clear to President Xi that this was not about a ban of the application, but rather our interest in divestiture so that the national security interests, and the data security of the American people can be protected," Kirby said.

TAIWAN TEST

China's response to Taiwan's presidential inauguration in May will test the stability of relations between Beijing and Washington.

China regards Taiwan, a self-governed island with democratic elections, as part of its territory and recently dropped language about a "peaceful reunification" from its budget. Taiwan strongly objects to China's sovereignty claims and says only the island's people can decide their future.

Taiwan's current Vice President Lai Ching-te, who Beijing views as a separatist, won the presidency in January and Beijing has increased pressure on Taiwan ahead of his swearing in.

Xi urged Washington to translate "Biden's commitment of not supporting 'Taiwan independence'" into concrete actions, Xinhua reported.

Biden and Xi agreed in November to reopen military communications and cooperate to curb fentanyl production. After that meeting, Biden told reporters he had not changed his view that Xi is a dictator, a comment that China called "extremely absurd."

But the two have looked to smooth over a rocky period in relations that took a turn for the worse after a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon transited the U.S. and was shot down by a U.S. fighter jet last year.

Biden and Xi's call also addressed U.S. concerns over China's support for Russia's war against Ukraine, its economic trade practices, human rights abuses in Xinjiang and the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, the White House said.

Biden and Xi discuss US-China cooperation and conflict

US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a call on Tuesday in an effort to keep tensions between the two countries at a simmer.

They discussed avenues of co-operation, including recent shared efforts to combat climate change and narcotics, according to summaries of the call.

But there was significant disagreement on Taiwan and economic issues.

Mr Biden stressed support for Taiwan, but Mr Xi called US interference in the South China Sea a "red line".

Mr Xi also took issue with sanctions the US has put on China and Chinese-owned companies, calling it an "endless stream of measures to suppress China's economy, trade, science and technology".

"If the United States insists on suppressing China's high-tech development and depriving China of its legitimate right to development, we will not sit idly by," the Chinese leader said, according to a state media summary.

Despite the areas of disagreement, the White House and Chinese state media described the conversation as "candid and constructive". The conversation ranged from AI concerns to military communications.

"I look forward to responsibly managing our relationship in the weeks and months ahead," Mr Biden wrote on X, formerly Twitter, after acknowledging points of tensions.

While the discussion did not significantly alter the status of the countries' relationship, experts said that may not be the point.

The call was "largely performative and an attempt to show the rest of the world that in fact the countries are committed to managing the relationship well - even though the negative dynamics in the relationship has not changed," Robert Daly, director of the Wilson Center's Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, said.

But that does not mean that the divisions expressed on the call, which lasted an hour and 45 minutes, were inconsequential.

Mr Xi stressed that Washington's support of Taiwan and pursuit of sanctions against China was "not 'risk reduction' but risk creation", the summary says.

President Biden did not shrink from his administration's backing of the Taiwanese government, according to the White House summary.

The American president stressed the US view that it was essential to maintain "peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait" and "the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea".

But Mr Biden also challenged Mr Xi on China's continued support for Russia's defence industrial base, its trade policies, and national security threats to the United States, the White House readout said.

"For China, there is no other issue more important than Taiwan," Yun Sun, senior fellow and co-director of the East Asia programme at the Stimson Center, said of the call. "But for the US, there are other issues as well."

Mr Daly emphasised that despite both readouts placing a focus on co-operation and conversation, "this is not a sign of a thaw" between the two superpowers.

"Both leaders have an interest in demonstrating responsible management of what they both know can be a very contentious relationship in the long term," Mr Daly said.

This is all about damage control and doing what you can," he added. "But neither leader is looking for an opening to change the tenor of the relationship."

The two presidents previously met in November at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in San Francisco, California, where they agreed to address climate change and fentanyl trafficking.

The meeting was widely viewed as an effort to cool tensions between Beijing and Washington after an American warplane shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon off the US coast last year.

The two leaders' discussion, which the White House said again touched on climate change and drug trafficking, comes ahead of several events that could prove crucial to US-China relationship.

Next month, Taiwan will inaugurate its president-elect, William Lai Ching-te, whom Beijing has called a "troublemaker" and "separatist."

The event probably loomed over the Biden-Xi call, said Ms Sun.

"The inauguration of the Taiwan president is coming up, so there is a need for China to emphasise that the US must tread carefully," she said.

There are several key diplomatic meetings for the US and China on the horizon.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will soon visit China - after an American business delegation met Mr Xi last week - and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to make a trip in the coming weeks.