Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday on the sidelines of the G20 leaders summit in Rome, the first face-to-face meeting between the top diplomats of the two countries after Blinken made a provocative statement challenging China’s sovereignty on the Taiwan question, saying the US will support the island’s secessionist authorities “robust” participation in the UN system.
Blinken and US delegates arrived at the residence of the Chinese delegation, entering via a side door. The meeting lasted for about 50 minutes. Wang and Blinken took photos together after the courtesy greetings, but did not shake hands or have a COVID-safe elbow bump, media reported.
State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (right meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Rome on the sidelines of the G20 Summit yesterday. – Xinhua
Chinese analysts said these details show the atmosphere of the meeting was as tense as China-US relations, and although it will not ease the situation, keeping communication open will at least help the two sides avoid conflicts and manage their differences.
According to the website of the Foreign Ministry, Wang pointed out at the meeting that the US has repeatedly claimed it is China’s changing status quo that caused recent tensions in the Taiwan Straits, which is totally untrue and a serious misrepresentation to the international community.
“The Taiwan question is the most sensitive matter between China and the US, and if the question is mishandled, it would bring subversive damage to overall China-US ties,” Wang said, stressing that the real status quo of the Taiwan question is that there is only one China, and Taiwan is a part of China, and the mainland and Taiwan belong to one and the same country.
History has proved that any attempt to change the status quo will bring serious damage to stability in the Taiwan Straits, and even create a Taiwan Straits crisis.
The crux of the current situation in the Taiwan Straits is that Taiwan secessionist authorities have repeatedly attempted to break the framework of the one-China principle, and the US is to blame for its connivance and support of secessionist forces, Wang said.
Wang demanded that the US side commit to a genuine one-China policy, not a fake one, that the US fulfill its commitments to China, and that the US truly implements the one-China policy, instead of saying one thing but doing another.
Blinken has reaffirmed that “the US will keep insistence on the one-China policy,” according to the website of the Foreign Ministry.
Wang told Blinken at the meeting that “I am willing to build regular contact with you, to have frank and timely exchanges of views… to avoid miscalculation and explore cooperation.”
Blinken said the US agrees that the two countries should develop bilateral ties based on the spirit of mutual respect, and be willing to keep communication with the Chinese side, to responsibly manage differences and avoid confrontation and crisis.
Wang also expressed China’s serious concerns over the problems caused by US acts that damaged China’s rightful interests, and demanded the US to correct mistakes to bring China-US ties back on track. Both sides also discussed issues including climate change, energy supply, the Iran nuclear deal, the Korean Peninsula situation, Myanmar and Afghanistan, and agreed to continue dialogues on dealing with global challenges.
– Courtesy of Global Times
