China Kicks Off Naval Drills as Xi Warns Biden Against 'Playing With Fire' Over Taiwan

Reports that Nancy Pelosi is on the verge of making her Odyssey around Asia, which might possibly encompass Taiwan, have prompted Beijing to warn Washington that “those who play with fire will perish by it”.

Chinese armed forces have launched a naval exercise in the South China Sea off the coast of Guangdong province.

The exercise is going to be conducted during 29 and 30 July, according to the Guangdong province’s maritime safety bureau.

This development comes amid reports that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is launching her Asian tour on Friday, a journey that might involve her stopping by Taiwan - a move that would not sit well with China, to put it mildly.

A day before, Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden also spoke with one another on the phone, during which Xi berated Biden over what the Chinese side regards as a US violation of the Three Communiques that “spell out” the US relationship with Taiwan, according to Politico.

Beijing’s transcription of the phone call also featured what appears to be a warning over US moves related to Taiwan.

“Resolutely safeguarding China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity is the firm will of more than 1.4Bln Chinese people,” the statement says as quoted by AP. “Those who play with fire will perish by it.”

A senior US administration official, however, suggested that warning about the risks of "playing with fire" was commonplace for Xi, and described the discussion about Taiwan as "direct and honest", CNN notes.

Politico also suggests that Xi and Biden may now be considering meeting each other in person after their phone conversation this week.

According to Politico, a senior administration official mentioned “a conversation about a face-to-face meeting being worked out between the teams” and that, from their perspective, “there was very much a clear affirmative agenda that was put forward and agreed to by the leaders for the teams to work toward.”