The top diplomats from the US and China will meet in New York on Friday as the escalating tensions begin to ease, but Beijing has issued a fresh warning against backing Taiwan. The annual United Nations summit will see the first meeting between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi since their protracted negotiations in Bali in July, during which both parties expressed hopeful about greater stability.
After visiting Taiwan a month later, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi infuriated Beijing, which had organised drills that were thought to be a practise invasion of the self-governing democracy. In a Sunday interview, President Joe Biden broke from years of US ambiguity by saying that the US was prepared to intervene militarily if China used force.
Wang said that he met with US climate envoy John Kerry in New York despite China’s announcement following Pelosi’s visit that it was limiting cooperation on the issue, a top priority for Biden, in a sign of improved relations. However, Wang reiterated his outrage over US support for Taiwan in a speech prior to his discussions with Blinken. China views Taiwan as a part of its territory. ‘The Taiwan dispute is now the biggest issue affecting China-US relations. If managed improperly, it is most likely to ruin bilateral ties’ At the Asia Society think tank, he stated.
China has the right to defend national reunification, just as the US will not permit Hawaii to be taken away, he said. He criticised the US government’s decision to ‘let’ Pelosi, who is the vice president’s successor, to travel to Taiwan. While privately worried about her travel, the Biden administration emphasised that Congress is a different arm of government.
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