United States: US National Security Advisor Mr. Jake Sullivan has held “candid” talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Mr. Wang Yi in Malta. The meeting is part of efforts through which the world’s two largest economies seek to stabilise troubled relations over trade and militarization of the Pacific.
During the two days of talks, Mr. Wang brought up the issue of Taiwan, a self-governing, democratic island that China claims as its own territory, as a “red line that cannot be crossed in Sino-US relations”. “The United States noted the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” the White House said in a statement, adding that the two officials “committed to maintaining this strategic channel of communication and to pursue additional high-level engagement.”
A Chinese government statement on the Malta meeting noted that “the two sides conducted candid, substantive, and constructive strategic communication”. China has accused the US of weaponizing tech and trade issues under the guise of national security, while Washington has warned Beijing against its military ambitions in Taiwan and the Pacific.
Mr. Sullivan’s meeting with Mr. Wang was the latest in a series of high-level talks between US and Chinese officials that could lay the groundwork for a meeting between US President Mr. Joe Biden and Chinese President Mr. Xi Jinping later this year.
According to the White House, Mr. Sullivan and the Chinese Foreign Minister discussed the relationship between the two countries, global and regional security issues, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the Taiwan Strait.
“The two sides committed to maintaining this strategic channel of communication and to pursue additional high-level engagement and consultations in key areas between the United States and the People’s Republic of China in the coming months,” the statement added.
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