Top US and China envoys meet in New York during UN General Assembly
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discuss Taiwan, Russia and potential cooperation ‘where our interests intersect’
- The two last met in July, before US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei and China’s extensive military exercises in the Taiwan Strait
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in New York on Friday, the latest round of high-level talks between the two powers amid soaring tensions over human rights, trade policy and Taiwan.
A readout from the US State Department said they spoke about Taiwan, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and potential cooperation “where our interests intersect”.
“The secretary discussed the need to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage the US-PRC relationship, especially during times of tension,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
Blinken also “highlighted the implications if the PRC were to provide support to Moscow’s invasion of a sovereign state”, Price said.
A readout of the meeting from the Chinese government was not immediately available.
The two top diplomats met on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly, where earlier in the week US President Joe Biden portrayed Beijing as ignoring UN principles with policies that target ethnic minorities in Xinjiang and its build-up of nuclear arms.
“We do not seek a cold war,” Biden said in his speech on Wednesday. “But the United States will be unabashed in promoting our vision of a free, open, secure and prosperous world.”
