The United States hailed “open and productive” discussions between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Laos on Saturday, as the pair touched on divisive issues including Taiwan and the South China Sea.
The two top diplomats “had open and productive discussions on key bilateral, regional, and global issues”, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, after what was the sixth meeting between Wang and Blinken since last year.
According to a readout from the Chinese foreign ministry, Wang criticised the US attempt to contain China, saying it had shown no signs of abating despite increased bilateral exchanges in diplomacy, finance, military, law enforcement and climate change over the past three months.
“The risks for China-US relations continue to accumulate and the challenges are increasing,” Wang told Blinken in talks lasting nearly 1½ hours.
The two sides had to continue to adjust and manage risks, Wang added.
Speaking to Western media, a senior state department official said Blinken had raised “US concerns about provocative actions that China has taken recently, including a simulated blockade around the time of the inauguration” of Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te.
The US statement on the meeting said both sides had agreed to enhance military-to-military communication to prevent miscalculation and conflict.
According to the statement, Blinken also reiterated serious US concerns about China’s support for Russia’s defence industrial base.
He said the United States would continue to take “appropriate measures” if Beijing did not address these concerns, in a reference to the US sanctions imposed on hundreds of Russian and Chinese firms. Wang, in return, criticised the sanctions and said Beijing would defend its rights.
Blinken’s trip to Laos comes as regional allies become increasingly uncertain about Washington’s foreign policy following President Joe Biden’s decision not to seek re-election. Republican candidate and former president Donald Trump is seen as likely to lead a return to US isolation if he wins in November.
According to Reuters, Blinken told Wang that both Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party candidate, believed in the importance of stable US-China ties, and that a rules-based order must be upheld.
Zhu Feng, the executive dean of Nanjing University’s School of International Studies, said that the timing the Wang-Blinken meeting was “important”, as Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race had cast a shadow of uncertainty over Washington’s China policy.
“Both China and the US see uncertainties in the bilateral relations, so it is a pretty good chance for the two countries’ diplomatic leaders to sit down and talk through issues that they have concerns about,” Zhu told the Post in an interview.
“As the US presidential election saw a dramatic change, Beijing is trying to find out if Biden’s China policy would change, given his withdrawal. Meanwhile, China also hopes that Vice-President Harris will not speculate on China-related issues during her presidential campaign.”
