Both diplomats described their first encounter since October as “candid”, the meeting occurring a day after attending a gathering of G20 foreign Ministers on the Indonesian Island of Bali.
A US official stated that neither side had resisted after the meeting.
“We were very open about our differences… but the meeting also constructive because, despite the candor and the professional tone, the official stated.
Blinken stated that Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader, had said in a June 13 call to President Vladimir Putin that he supported a partnership with Russia.
Moscow and Beijing had announced a “no limitations” partnership shortly before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24th. However, US officials insist that China has not evaded tough US-led sanctions against Russia or provided it with military hardware.
US officials warned of sanctions if China offers material support to the war, which Moscow calls a “special army operation” to weaken the Ukrainian military. The invasion of Ukraine by Kyiv and its Western allies is unprovoked, according to Kyiv.
When asked about his refusal to meet with Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, Blinken stated: “The problem here is that we don’t see any signs that Russia is ready to engage in meaningful diplomatic relations at this time.”
According to a statement from his ministry, Wang shared in-depth views about “the Ukraine question” during Saturday’s talks.
Blinken was also told by Blinken that US-China relations were in danger of becoming “astray” because of the United States’ perceptions about China.
Wang stated that “Many people believe America is suffering from an increasing serious bout of Sinophobia.”
Question about tariffs
Wang said that Washington should immediately cancel any additional tariffs imposed upon China and end unilateral sanctions against Chinese companies.
The US officials said that the talks were intended to maintain the US-China relationship and prevent it from becoming inadvertently conflictual.
Jake Sullivan, US national security adviser, said that Joe Biden and China’s Xi were likely to talk again in the following weeks.
Daniel Russel, a former US President Barack Obama’s top diplomat for East Asia, stated that a key goal of the talks was to explore the possibility for a personal meeting between Biden, Xi and their first meeting as leaders.
The US regards China as its principal strategic competitor and is concerned that China might attempt to overthrow Taiwan, a democratically-governed country.
Despite their rivalries, the two world’s largest economies are still major trading partners. Biden is considering scrapping tariffs on a variety of Chinese goods to reduce rising US inflation.
