US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are exploring the possibility of holding an in-person meeting, a senior US government official said on Thursday after the two leaders spent more than two hours discussing the future of the United States. their complicated relationship, with tensions over Taiwan once again a focus of tension.The official declined to be identified so he could discuss a private conversation.Biden made the phone call from the White House, accompanied by important collaborators, such as Secretary of State Antony Blinken.When Biden was vice president, he spent hours with Xi in the United States and China, an experience he cites often when discussing the two countries' opportunities for conflict and cooperation.However, they have not met in person since Biden took office last year.A persistent source of tension is Taiwan, which has been governed independently for decades but is claimed by China as part of its territory, something Xi emphasized on Thursday.“Those who play with fire die for it,” the Foreign Office said after the call with Biden."Hopefully the United States will see it clearly."The White House released its own transcript of the conversation on Taiwan, saying Biden "reiterated that US policy has not changed and that the United States vigorously opposes unilateral attempts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.The goal of the call, which began at 8:33 a.m. Eastern Time and ended at 10:50 a.m., was "to responsibly manage our differences and work together where our interests are aligned," the House said. White.As always, China left no doubt that it holds the United States responsible for the deterioration of relations between the two countries.“President Xi stressed that focusing and defining China-US relations in terms of strategic competition and seeing China as the main rival and the most serious long-term challenge would be a misperception of China-US relations and a misunderstanding. of China's development, and would mislead the peoples of the two countries and the international community," the foreign ministry said.Biden is trying to find new ways to collaborate with China while containing its influence in the world.Differing views on global health, economic policy and human rights have strained the relationship, and China's refusal to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been an additional factor of tension.The most recent factor has been House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's potential visit to Taiwan, which has a democratic government and informally receives defense support from the United States.Beijing has said it would view such a trip as a provocation, a threat officials in Washington view with heightened seriousness in light of Russia's war in Ukraine.Pelosi would be the highest-ranking elected official to travel to Taiwan since Republican Newt Gingrich did so in 1997 when she was Speaker of the House.Biden told reporters last week that the military command considers the trip at this time "not a good idea."