The announced trip, not yet confirmed or denied, by Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, to the island of Taiwan as part of a tour of Asia that began on Friday, has raised the tension between Washington and and Beijing.Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned Joe Biden by telephone on Thursday that “whoever plays with fire gets burned”, clearly alluding to the fact that if that visit materializes, China will consider it a provocation and a hostile act.Pelosi, declared persona non grata by Beijing a long time ago, has made a serious commitment to her president, who made an effort in his telephone conversation with Xi to assure him that the US policy of the "one China" principle has not changed, but reminding him that the US opposes "unilateral efforts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait."China considers the island part of its territory, and Xi has repeatedly said he will reunify it with the mainland, by force if necessary.Beijing opposes any move to give Taiwan international legitimacy and any official contact between Taipei and other countries.Yesterday, as a warning to mariners, the Chinese Navy carried out live-fire exercises in the waters of the Taiwan Strait.For all these reasons, the White House has informed Pelosi that it is not a good time for that trip, which, instead, is now cheered by the Trumpist Republicans.The US has always played strategic ambiguity in the relationship with Taiwan.On the one hand, he respects China's claim on the island, but at the same time he has diplomatic and military ties with it, and Biden even stated in May that he would defend Taiwan militarily if there were an invasion from the mainland.US officials make discreet visits to the island, but the case of Pelosi is different because she is the second authority in line for the presidency of the United States and one of the most influential politicians in the country.In all this context, the fifth virtual summit between Biden and Xi since the first arrived at the White House shows the need for Washington to keep the channels of dialogue and negotiation open with the Asian giant in view of the numerous disputes that they maintain. .And Pelosi's possible trip puts the US in a delicate position.The Speaker of the House of Representatives is a central figure in Biden's Democratic majority, but she distances herself from him on the confrontation with China, which complicates the work of American diplomacy that strives not to poison relations with Beijing.In fact, Washington has admitted that the bilateral relationship with China has deteriorated considerably, especially due to the trade war, the Chinese position of not condemning Russia in the Ukraine war and the struggle for influence in the Asia-Pacific region, among other folders.China does not seem willing to make any concessions or signs of weakness, especially being at the gates of the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party that will enthrone Xi Jinping with an unprecedented third term as head of the country, elevating him to the level of Mao.But what should have been a paved road for Xi until that appointment has found some stones, among them the management of the covid and the unlimited association signed with Putin that has pushed China to make an existential decision about its future international role.Two issues that Xi must handle with great care.Hopes that Washington-Beijing relations will improve in the short term are very slim, and Pelosi's trip to Taiwan would end up burying them.For this reason, in the event that they could still get worse, Biden prefers to opt for keeping open the path of dialogue and diplomacy with an Asian giant that is preparing for a historic internal change.© La Vanguardia Ediciones, SLU All rights reserved.