Blinken addressed the U.S. concerns regarding China’s provocative actions in recent times, including a simulated blockade when Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te was inaugurated, stated spokesperson Matthew Miller from the U.S. State Department.
The talks between Blinken and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi were characterized as a productive and open meeting, where they discussed important bilateral, regional, and global issues. The meeting lasted for 1 hour and 20 minutes, according to Miller.
No statements regarding the meeting have yet come from Chinese authorities.
In May, China initiated extensive military exercises around the island, seemingly due to anger over the inauguration of President Lai Ching-te on May 20. The authorities in Beijing view him as a ‘separatist.’
Taiwan is democratically governed and receives extensive military support from the U.S., even though Americans do not officially recognize it as a separate country. China, for its part, considers the island a part of China and has long desired reunification.
China has threatened to use military means if reunification cannot occur peacefully. There are significant economic and strategic interests linked to the island, not least due to the large production of high-tech computer chips.
(©NTB)