Washington does not see any change in China's tone on Taiwan, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told CNBC on Thursday when asked about media reports that Chinese President Xi Jinping told President Joe Biden that Beijing will reunify Taiwan with China.

Gina Raimondo speaks at a press briefing at the White House in Washington.

THE TAKE

NBC News and other media outlets reported on Wednesday that Xi told Biden in a recent summit in San Francisco that Beijing will reunify Taiwan with mainland China but that the timing has not yet been decided.

Biden and Xi met at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco in mid-November in what was their first face-to-face meeting in a year, with the high-stakes diplomacy aimed at curbing tensions, including over Taiwan, between the two superpowers.

KEY QUOTES

"I don't see any change. I was in the meeting. President Xi didn't say anything to us that he hasn't said before," Raimondo said in the CNBC interview.

"It was a good discussion between the two world leaders. It was frank, it was positive, it was direct. Taiwan came up but no new news," the U.S. commerce secretary added.

BACKGROUND

Biden and Xi agreed during their meeting to open a presidential hotline and resume military-to-military communications, showing some tangible progress.

Xi urged Washington to stop sending weapons to Taiwan and support China's peaceful "reunification" with Taiwan, Chinese state media said at the time.

Biden said he stressed the need for peace in the Taiwan Strait. A U.S. official added that Biden argued to maintain the status quo and for China to respect Taiwan's electoral process. In a press briefing after the summit, Biden called Xi a dictator.

The U.S. is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier even though Washington does not formally recognize its government, maintaining official relations only with Beijing which claims the island as its own territory.

Xi straight-up told Biden that China is going to take over Taiwan, report says. It could end in war.

• Chinese leader Xi Jinping told President Joe Biden China intended to rule Taiwan, NBC News reported.

• The conversation took place on the fringes of the Apec summit in November.

• Tensions are increasing between China and Taiwan ahead of the election.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping told President Joe Biden that China intended to take control of Taiwan in a face-to-face meeting last month, NBC News reported.

The report, citing three former and current US officials, said that the remarks were made during a meeting on the fringes of the Apec summit in San Francisco in November.

While official readouts of the meeting emphasized the common ground the leaders found on issues such as the climate crisis, the report indicated that long-standing tensions over the de facto autonomy of Taiwan also surfaced.

Xi bluntly asserted the Chinese right to rule Taiwan and said it would prefer to take it peacefully not by force, according to NBC.

The Chinese leader reportedly denied US intelligence claims that China intended to be ready to seize Taiwan by 2027, saying the timing had not been decided.

The report echoes details of the meeting reported by Japanese outlet Nikkei, which characterized Xi's remarks on Taiwan as an attempt to dial down tensions, emphasizing that China wasn't planning military action, but laying out the conditions under which it would attack.

The Chinese president is under pressure amid economic turmoil in China, and at the meeting sought to smooth ties with the US and American business leaders in a bid to secure investment.

China has long asserted its right to rule Taiwan, which claimed its independence from China's communist government after the civil war in the 1940s.

In recent speeches, Xi has menaced Taiwan with the prospect of invasion, and US officials are increasingly concerned that Xi is planning on seizing control of Taiwan by force.

Biden has said that the US would come to the defense of Taiwan if it's attacked, though the remarks were modified by the White House.

The US has long maintained a position of "strategic ambiguity" on Taiwan, acknowledging Chinese claims to rule the territory yet hinting that it could defend Taiwan's right to self-governance if it's attacked.

Tensions have been increasing between Taiwan and the mainland in the run-up to Taiwan's elections next month.

Xi Told Biden China Will Reunify With Taiwan

Chinese President Xi Jinping told US President Biden that Beijing will reunify Taiwan with mainland China but the timing has not yet been decided.

Expect more turbulence for US and China in 2024

After a year that brought panic over spy balloons, a fight over semiconductors and an intensifying military rivalry, China and the U.S. are ending the year with an uneasy detente.

This follows a November meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping where both men signaled a desire to stop the free fall in their countries' relations.

2024 could bring new turbulence. From presidential elections in Taiwan and the U.S. to continued U.S.-China trade fights, Biden and Xi face no shortage of problems that could cause a stumble in the new year.

CROSS-STRAIT TROUBLE

First up will be Taiwan's Jan. 13 presidential and legislative elections. How China reacts could determine whether the relationship between the world’s largest economies becomes recharged with mutual suspicion.

Vice President Lai Ching-te and running mate Hsiao Bi-khim from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party are leading in the polls. China has labeled them as the "independence double-act" and rebuffed Lai's offers of talks.

Elections on the island, which China considers its own territory, have previously escalated tensions, most notably in 1996 when China's military exercises and missile tests ahead of the voting prompted the U.S. to send an aircraft carrier task force to the area.

This time Beijing has again ramped up military and political pressure, framing the elections as a choice between "peace and war," calling the ruling party dangerous separatists and urging Taiwanese to make the "right choice."

Some analysts believe Xi, hoping to avoid conflict, will moderate China's military response if Lai wins. But Taiwan is on high alert for Chinese activities, both military and political, ahead of the election.

TRUMP 2.0?

The 2024 U.S. presidential election could be even more consequential. Barring last-minute surprises, the election will likely be a rematch between Biden and former President Donald Trump.

While the contest is sure to feature heated rhetoric about China, Xi will be more focused on one question: Will Trump return to office?

"When the Chinese think about the election next year, Trump coming back would be their worst nightmare," said Yun Sun, director at the Stimson Center in Washington.

A tense U.S.-China relationship during former President Barack Obama's term gave way to an all-out trade war under his successor's, accusations over the origin of COVID-19 and new tensions over the status of Taiwan.

In one respect, a return of Trump could be a geopolitical boon for China. Biden has skillfully increased the pressure on Beijing - maintaining Trump-era tariffs, adding new export controls and strengthening U.S. alliances.

If Trump's isolationist instincts mean a U.S. pullback from alliances, that could be in the interests of China's rulers, who feel hemmed in by American power.

But as unhappy with Biden as they may be, said Sun, China's rulers see a leader who follows the rules of engagement and a semi-functional U.S.-China relationship. Trump means unpredictability.

"Under Trump there was no meaningful conversation about pretty much anything," she said. "Instead, there was an unstoppable escalation of tension."

CHIPS CONFLICT

U.S. export controls meant to keep the most advanced semiconductors out China's hands will likely only intensify next year.

This past October, the U.S. tightened existing restrictions, halting additional high-end chips and closing loopholes. And another update is likely in 2024 - U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has said to expect one "at least annually."

Though there is debate about how well the export controls have kept this technology from reaching China, Beijing has struggled to push back against the restrictions, particularly since retaliating against U.S. businesses could drive away the foreign capital Beijing needs as economic growth slows.

One lever Beijing has is its dominant position as a supplier of rare earth metals needed for chips production. In July, China unveiled restrictions on exports of certain gallium and germanium products - exports have fallen off sharply since then.

The tension the U.S. policy has generated will only increase as U.S. authorities crack down on violations of its new rules. The Biden administration launched a task force in 2023 to counter efforts to illegally acquire sensitive U.S. technology.

Investigations into apparent violations involving exports of technology to China are underway and "we anticipate those efforts to result in significant export enforcement actions in 2024," Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod said in a statement to Reuters.

2024: the fault lines that could rock US-China ties.

 After a year that brought panic over spy balloons…

… a fight over semiconductors…

…. and an intensifying military rivalry…

… China and the United States are ending the year with an uneasy détente, with both Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping looking to stop a free fall in their countries’ relations.

But 2024 could bring new turbulence. Here are three problems that could cause a stumble in U.S.-China ties.

[2024 Taiwanese Elections]

Taiwan votes in mid-January for its new president and legislature. China considers Taiwan its own territory.

Taiwan officials say Beijing has been escalating military maneuvers near the island and pushing a prickly narrative.

“There have been very stern warnings from China that this is war and peace election for Taiwan, and independence for Taiwan would mean war.”

Reuters correspondent Antoni Slodkowski has been following these events from Beijing.

Though increased warnings and military pressure during elections isn’t new at all for Taiwan, this time Beijing really dislikes the frontrunner: Democratic Progressive Party vice-president Lai Ching-te and his running mate Hsiao Bi-khim.

“The commentary in China has been pretty negative about the DPP candidature. They have been called colluding villains I think, the sort of ruling party ticket, and the independence double act.”

The U.S. could be drawn in if military tensions escalate in the Taiwan Strait, and there’s a precedent for that. In 1996, the U.S. sent an aircraft carrier group to the area in response to China’s military exercises and missile tests ahead of voting.

[US Presidential Election]

The 2024 U.S. presidential election could be even more consequential. Barring last-minute surprises, it will likely be a rematch between Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump.

Reuters’ US Foreign Policy editor Don Durfee explains its implications for the U.S.-China relationship.

“Trump is less of a fan of traditional American alliances including NATO and some of the alliances in Asia. If a Trump administration were to mean a pullback from Asia, China would see that in its benefit. On the other hand, Trump was very tough on China during his time. He imposed new tariffs, there were arguments about COVID and the Chinese leadership found it to be a very difficult administration to work with. So there’s an argument from analysts that the Chinese might actually prefer Biden because he’s more predictable, they feel like they have a partner they can negotiate with.”

[Chips Conflict]

Semiconductors remain a key issue in the U.S.-China tech rivalry.

And the US is expected to beef up export controls designed to prevent China’s military from getting its hands on the most advanced semiconductors.

“We’re going to see another tightening of export controls in the coming fall in 2024, and we’ve also heard from officials that the U.S. intends to enforce these rules more strictly. So they intend to go after individuals and companies they might see as violating this.”

While China sees this as an effort targeted at their development, it struggles to push back since retaliating against U.S. businesses would only drive away the foreign capital Beijing needs as its economic growth slows.

Things may look cordial between Washington and Beijing for now, but that could change unexpectedly in the coming year.

From presidential elections in Taiwan and the United States to continued trade fights, there are no shortage of fault lines between the world’s two largest economies.