US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan presses Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during talks in Thailand to use China’s influence over Iran to ease tensions in the Middle East. I put it on. The officials also agreed to work toward arranging a phone call between President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The meeting, held in Bangkok on Friday and Saturday, followed talks between the two presidents in November in California, where the ruling party’s candidate in Taiwan’s recent presidential election, which Beijing opposed, The meeting was held in the wake of China’s victory and the resumption of previously frozen dialogue between U.S. and Chinese military officials. These developments unfold as attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen continue to threaten global shipping in the Red Sea.
A senior U.S. official said Sullivan cited China’s extensive economic influence over Iran and stressed that the Houthi offensive is destabilizing international commerce. The official noted that China has publicly called for de-escalation, but said it was too early to tell whether China was using diplomatic power to pressure Iran on the issue. Ta. The official was not authorized to discuss private conversations between Sullivan and Wang and spoke on condition of anonymity.
According to China’s Foreign Ministry, Wang said the United States should keep its promise not to support Taiwan’s independence. Wang said that the Taiwanese general election won by current Vice President Lai Chingde will change China’s position that Taiwan is part of China and that the biggest issue in U.S.-China relations is the issue of “Taiwan independence.” He said it was not a thing. In response to the ministry’s statement.
Although Biden has said he does not support independence, U.S. law requires a credible defense of Taiwan and requires the U.S. to treat any threat to the island as a matter of “grave concern.”
U.S. officials said it was not clear when the next meeting between Biden and Xi would take place, but officials said they expected it to take place in the coming months.
Mr. Wang and Mr. Sullivan previously met in the Mediterranean island nation of Malta and Vienna last year before Mr. Biden and Mr. Xi met in California.
In November, the two countries unveiled a modest agreement to combat illegal fentanyl, re-establish military communications and prevent further deterioration of relations. The U.S.-China Drug Task Force is scheduled to hold its first meeting on Tuesday. U.S. officials say fentanyl and its precursors are primarily manufactured in China.
China claims that Taiwan is its own territory, and in recent years has shown displeasure with political activities there, including sending military aircraft and warships. Earlier on Saturday, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said China had dispatched more than 30 fighter jets and a fleet of naval ships to the island within 24 hours, including 13 jets in the Taiwan Strait, the buffer zone between the two countries. announced that they had crossed the midline of the unofficial boundary line, which is believed to be its territory and mainland.
Wang also said that China and the United States should take this year’s 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations to reflect on their past experiences and treat each other equally instead of looking down on each other.
Wang said in a statement that the two countries should “commit to mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, and build the right way for China-US exchanges.”
Taiwan announced that six Chinese balloons passed over the island or in its airspace just north of it, days after the self-governing island held elections. Mr. Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party campaigned primarily on the platform of national self-determination, social justice, and rejection of the Chinese threat.
In addition to cross-strait issues, Sullivan and Wang also discussed Russia’s war with Ukraine, the Middle East, North Korea, the South China Sea and Myanmar, according to the White House. Sullivan and Wang spoke about progress toward holding a dialogue this spring between U.S. and Chinese officials on artificial intelligence.
According to a summary of the meeting from the White House, Sullivan stressed that although the U.S. and China have a competitive relationship, both sides need to “avoid falling into conflict or conflict.”