US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi against Beijing providing any support to Russia related to its conflict with Ukraine, according to the State Department.
Blinken delivered the warning on Friday when he met for 90 minutes with Wang in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
China maintains close ties with Russia. Both countries face the same enemy. The response of each of them to a number of various tests prove that it is, right now, ironclad, as it should be from the point of view of the self-interest of each and both of them.
Blinken “reiterated the United States’ condemnation of Russia’s war against Ukraine and highlighted the implications if the PRC [People’s Republic of China] were to provide support to Moscow’s invasion of a sovereign state,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in the statement.
“He underscored that the United States remains open to cooperating with the PRC where our interests intersect.”
Price said in the statement the top US diplomat stated Washington and Beijing should maintain open lines of communication to deescalate tensions.
The meeting came amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing following US President Joe Biden’s statement on Sunday that the US would defend Taiwan if China decided to invade.
“[Blinken] emphasized that the United States is committed to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, consistent with our longstanding one China policy,” Price said.
“The Secretary stressed that preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is critical to regional and global security and prosperity.”
He “discussed the need to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage the US-PRC relationship, especially during times of tension,” it added, using the acronym for the People’s Republic of China.
A State Department official called the exchange on Taiwan “direct and honest.”
US lawmakers have also been considering the idea of making changes to the United States’ declared “one China” policy, Global Times reported on Tuesday.
Under the internationally-approved “one-China” policy, nearly all countries, including the US, recognize Beijing’s sovereignty over Taipei. However, in violation of its own stated policy, and in an attempt to unnerve Beijing, Washington continues to court the secessionist island, engaging in diplomatic contact with its anti-China government and supplying it with massive shipments of arms.
Global Times reported that the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations was preparing a draft of the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022, which is described as the most comprehensive restructuring of US policy toward the wayward island since the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979.
The Chinese paper cited experts on the matter warning that if the controversial bill gets passed, it will lead to the cancellation of the US’ one-China policy, and that China will take strong countermeasures.
Source: Agencies (edited by Al-Manar English Website)
