China warns against Taiwan interference in 2-hour talk between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping

US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpaort Xi Jinping spent more than two hours Thursday talking through the future of their complicated relationship, with Taiwan once again emerging as a key point of tension.

According to an outline of the call released by Beijing, Xi emphasized China's claim over the island, which has governed itself for decades.

“Those who play with fire will perish by it,” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “It is hoped that the US will be clear-eyed about this." The White House released its own description of the conversation about Taiwan, saying that Biden "underscored that the United States policy has not changed and that the United States strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”

The goal of the call, which began at 8:33 am EDT and ended at 10:50 am EDT, was to “responsibly manage our differences and work together where our interests align,” the White House said.

As usual, China left no doubt that it blames the US for the deteriorating relationship between the two countries.

“President Xi underscored that to approach and define China-US relations in terms of strategic competition and view China as the primary rival and the most serious long-term challenge would be misperceiving China-US relations and misreading China's development, and would mislead the people of the two countries and the international community,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The call took place as Biden aims to find new ways to work with China and contain its influence around the world. Differing perspectives on global health, economic policy and human rights have long tested the relationship — with China's refusal to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine adding further strain.

The latest pressure point has been House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's potential visit to Taiwan, which has a democratic government and receives informal defensive support from the US, but which China considers part of its territory. Beijing has said it would view such a trip as a provocation, a threat US officials are taking with heightened seriousness in light of Russia's incursion into Ukraine.

“If the US insists on going its own way and challenging China's bottom line, it will surely be met with forceful responses,” Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry, told reporters earlier this week.

Also watch: Military drill in Taiwan amid Pelosi visit & Chinese threats

Pelosi would be the highest-ranking US elected official to travel to Taiwan since Republican Newt Gingrich visited the island in 1997 when he was House speaker. Biden last week told reporters that US military officials believed it was “not a good idea” for the speaker to visit the island at the moment.