The widespread attention being given to the virtual meeting the Chinese and US leaders are due to hold on Tuesday, speaks volumes of the worldwide hopes that they can firmly set relations between the two countries on a cooperative track.

They have spoken on the telephone twice — on Feb 11 and Sept 10 — and both times there has been notable, and to various degrees, constructive interaction between the two sides afterwards. It is hoped that will also be the case this time, as their first virtual meeting comes at a time when US actions regarding Taiwan have been a source of growing friction.

Managing the two countries' competition responsibly is of vital importance to prevent the island from becoming a flashpoint for conflict.

Beijing has repeatedly made it clear to Washington that Taiwan is its core interest and that actions emboldening Taiwan secessionists in their brinksmanship have the potential to not only instantly derail Sino-US relations but also lead the world into an abyss.

That's why in a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Saturday, which was apparently arranged to settle details for the virtual meeting between the two sides' leaders, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi reiterated that history and reality have proved that "Taiwan independence" is the biggest threat to the peace in the region, and warned that any support to "Taiwan independence" forces risks damaging regional peace and eventually causing damage to the US itself.

While it was good that US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told the media earlier this month that the US does not seek to change China's political system and it wants to co-exist with China. Washington should know that to support the secessionists on the island in their endeavor to split the country is also intolerable to Beijing.

It is to be hoped that the meeting can impress on US President Joe Biden that Beijing is resolved to realize national reunification in the foreseeable future no matter the cost, and prompt his administration to seriously weigh the US' gains and losses in throwing its weight behind the Taiwan secessionists in a bid to unsettle Beijing.

Biden should clearly state his administration's opposition to "Taiwan independence" and affirm it will uphold the commitments the US made in the three China-US joint communiques.

The recent unheralded announcement at COP 26 in Glasgow that China and the US had agreed to boost their climate co-operation over the 2020s has put the two sides' relations in a more positive light. If the US side upholds the one-China policy, it is widely expected that the meeting will turn up the brightness by yielding results beneficial to both countries and the world at large.