US National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan has put pressure on Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi When speaking in Thailand to use China's influence with Iran to facilitate Tensions in the Middle East. The officials agreed to work on arranging a call between them President Joe Biden And Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Friday and Saturday meetings in Bangkok continued Presidents' Conference in California in November It followed the victory of a ruling party candidate opposed by Beijing The recent presidential election in Taiwan And America and China Military officers Resumed the once frozen conversation. They played as attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen continue to threaten Global Shipping in the Red Sea.
Sullivan, a senior US official, cited China's extensive economic influence over Iran and emphasized the destabilizing effect of Houthi attacks on international trade. The official noted that China has publicly called for lower tensions, but said it was too early to tell whether Beijing was using its diplomatic power to pressure Tehran on the matter. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss private conversations between Sullivan and Wang and spoke on condition of anonymity.
China's foreign ministry said Wang had said he wanted to stand with Washington We will not support Taiwan's independence. Wang said Taiwan won the election Lai Singh-TeThe current vice president has not changed the Chinese position of “Taiwan independence” as the island is part of China and the biggest challenge in US-China relations, the ministry said in a statement.
Biden said He didn't support it Independence, but US law requires a credible defense to treat all threats to Taiwan and the US island as matters of “serious concern”.
It's unclear when the next Biden-Xi conversation will take place, but the U.S. official said officials believe it will happen in the coming months.
Wang and Sullivan previously met in the Mediterranean island nation Malta And inside Vienna Before the Biden-Xi meeting in California last year.
In November, the two sides revealed modest agreements to combat illegal fentanyl and re-establish military communications, preventing the relationship from deteriorating. The US-China Anti-Drug Task Force is set to hold its first meeting on Tuesday. U.S. officials say fentanyl and its precursors are mostly made in China.
China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has expressed its displeasure with Taiwan's political activities in recent years. Sends military aircraft and ships. Earlier on Saturday, Taiwan's Defense Ministry said China It had sent more than 30 fighter jets A fleet of naval vessels, including 13 warplanes, crossed the middle of the Taiwan Strait towards the island over a 24-hour period – an unofficial border considered a buffer between its border and the mainland.
Wang also said that China and the United States should use this year's 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries as an opportunity to reflect on past experiences and treat each other as equals.
“Countries must be committed to mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, and China and the United States must develop a proper way of communication,” Wang was quoted as saying.
Taiwan reported Six Chinese balloons A few days after the Swarajya Island held its election, it flew over the island or north of it through airspace. Lai's Democratic Progressive Party campaigned largely on self-determination, social justice and rejection of China's threats.
Aside from cross-Strait issues, Sullivan and Wang also discussed Russia's war on Ukraine, the Middle East, North Korea, the South China Sea and Myanmar, the White House said. Sullivan and Wang talked about progress toward holding talks this spring between U.S. and Chinese officials on artificial intelligence.
Although Washington and Beijing are in competition, Sullivan emphasized that both sides must “avoid conflict or the possibility of conflict,” according to a White House summary of the meeting.
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Leung reported from Hong Kong and Miller from Washington.
