The “deeply sensitive” issue of arms sales to Taiwan was raised during Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) first meeting with US Vice President Joe Biden in Beijing on Thursday.

As expected, the issue was near the top of the Chinese agenda and no time was lost putting it on the table.

Biden told Xi that the US intended to “meet its commitments” to Taiwan and added that there was also an “overarching intention” in Washington to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.