US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a “candid and constructive” dialogue during a meeting at the Munich Security Conference on Friday.
The conversation touched on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues as part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage competition in the relationship, according to US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller.
According to Xinhua, the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for a “sound, steady and sustainable development of China-US ties.”
Nevertheless, Blinken raised concerns over China’s “support for Russia’s war against Ukraine, including support to the Russian defence industrial base.” He also reaffirmed the US intention to defend its interests and values, as well as those of its allies, Miller informed.
However, he emphasised the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the South China Sea.
In addition, the two sides also exchanged views on the situation in West Asia and the Korean Peninsula and confirmed that their respective senior officials should meet to follow up on these discussions.
The two sides should adhere to the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation and actively explore the right way for the two major countries to get along with each other, Wang said.
Wang said that the pursuit of turning “de-risking” into “de-sinicisation,” building “small yard, high fence” and “decoupling from China” will eventually backfire on the US itself, as per the Xinhua report. The Chinese foreign minister also called on Washington to lift illegal unilateral sanctions against Chinese companies and individuals.
The meeting between Blinken and Wang on Friday was the first face-to-face meeting between senior officials from the two countries since Taiwan’s presidential election in the middle of January.
