US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with a top Chinese official in Washington on Friday to discuss a range of issues, including the situation in Taiwan, ahead of presidential elections in the country, as the United States seeks to dissuade Beijing from taking any action against the self-governing island that China claims.
After returning to Washington from his recent trip to the Middle East and participation in the Davos economic forum, Blinken met with Liu Jianchao, head of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
A US State Department spokesperson said in a statement after the meeting that Blinken “reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.” The spokesperson added that “the two sides held constructive discussions on a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues” and “agreed on the importance of continuing to keep channels of communication open between the United States and the People’s Republic of China.”
The spokesperson said the officials also discussed the war in Ukraine, the North Korea nuclear issue, and the situation in the Middle East. Blinken stressed the “importance of maintaining rights and freedoms of navigation in the Red Sea, defending them, and avoiding further escalation” after the US-UK airstrikes on Houthi forces in Yemen.
The Chinese side did not mention Taiwan in its statement following the talks, instead saying that the two sides agreed to “continue to promote dialogue and cooperation.” The office of the Chinese official said that “Liu explained the Chinese position on the relevant issues and stressed that the two sides must move towards each other to promote the stable, healthy, and sustainable development of Sino-US relations.”
The United States does not recognize Taiwan as an independent country but considers the People’s Republic of China to be the sole legitimate representative of Taiwan. However, the United States provides the island with significant military assistance and refuses to change the “status quo” there by force.
William Lai, the vice president of Tsai Ing-wen, both of whom belong to the Democratic Progressive Party (which supports independence), is considered the frontrunner to win the election in Taiwan. Beijing considers both Tsai Ing-wen and William Lai to be its enemies because of their pro-independence stances.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Thursday that the United States, which will send an unofficial delegation to the island after the presidential election, “believes it is up to the voters of Taiwan to determine their next leader freely and without outside interference.”
Liu Jianchao is seen as a rising star in the ruling circles in Beijing, and his visit to Washington comes at a time when relations between the United States and China are beginning to thaw, as evidenced by a meeting between President Joe Biden and his counterpart Xi Jinping in November in California.
Tension between Washington and Beijing had reached its peak about a year ago when the United States shot down a Chinese balloon that it said was for spying purposes, which China denied.
In a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Tuesday, Liu Jianchao adopted a conciliatory tone, praising Sino-American cooperation and denying any warlike rhetoric. Liu Jianchao also seemed cautious in his response to Taiwan, refusing to disclose how China would respond to the results of the presidential election on the island, but he pointed to the “commitment of the United States not to support the independence of Taiwan.”
Blinken also met with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Friday. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the two sides discussed maintaining stability in the Taiwan Strait as well as “the enduring support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Hayashi had reaffirmed on Sunday in Kyiv the “determination” of her country to continue supporting Ukraine in the face of Russia, after about two years since the start of the war.
Hayashi, who was the first senior foreign official to visit Ukraine this year, met her counterpart Dmytro Kuleba after visiting Bucha and the city of Irpin, which were the scenes of atrocities attributed to the Russian army.