Washington and Beijing, at odds since the Chinese balloon affair in February, have renewed diplomatic contact at the highest level, the White House announced Thursday.
Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday and Thursday in Vienna, the US executive said, in a context that remains extremely tense between the two great powers, launched in an all-out diplomatic, military, economic and technological competition.
"Frank, substantive, and constructive discussions"
The two senior officials had "frank, substantive, and constructive discussions," the White House said. They discussed both "Russia's war against Ukraine" and issues related to the Taiwan Strait, in other words the two most sensitive topics in the bilateral relationship.
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Washington has repeatedly warned China against any military assistance to Russia. The United States is also concerned about Taiwan, which China claims.
This contact at the highest level breaks several weeks of radio silence, or almost, between the two capitals. In February, tensions between China and the United States had risen a notch with the overflight of American territory by Chinese balloons, an espionage operation according to Washington.
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The head of US diplomacy Antony Blinken had then canceled at the last minute a trip to China. The meeting in Vienna will revive speculation about an upcoming meeting between Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Asked about it on Wednesday, the US president said: "There is progress. It will work.
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