MUNICH (AP) – Top diplomats from the United States and China held a “frank and constructive” discussion Friday on issues plaguing their countries’ strained relations. TaiwanSituation of. South China Sea, Russia’s war against Ukraine and synthetic opioidssaid the State Department.
The meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference was the latest and highest-level meeting between the two sides since President Joe Biden met. in California late last year.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Blinken emphasized the importance of maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait and expanding early counternarcotics efforts. Blinken also expressed concern about China’s support for Russia’s defense industrial base, which Washington views as supporting Russia’s military operations against Ukraine.
“Both countries maintain open lines of communication and engage in candid and constructive discussions on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues as part of our ongoing efforts to responsibly manage competition in our relationship,” Miller said. We had a lot of discussions,” he said.
Miller said Blinken “reiterated that the United States will defend our interests and values and the interests and values of our allies and partners,” adding that the current situation in the Middle East and North Korea also came up.
“Both sides recognized the importance of maintaining open lines of communication between the United States and China across a wide range of strategic issues, including consultations on key areas and high-level meetings in the coming months,” he said.