South China Sea, Taiwan figure in ‘open’ talks as Wang Yi, Antony Blinken meet in Laos
- Both sides raise their respective concerns during talks hailed by the US as ‘open and productive’
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.
