WASHINGTON: The US State Department has confirmed that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday in New York City.
Relations between Washington and Beijing have been tense as the two sides clash over US export controls on advanced chip technology to China, Taiwan, trade tariffs, human rights and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
According to the State Department that the meeting between the two will take place at 1730 GMT on Friday. The Chinese top diplomat is in the US for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session.
Beijing this week urged Washington to “promptly” remove all additional tariffs on Chinese items. Washington has expressed concern over Beijing relations with Moscow since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while China has repeatedly expressed worries over US relations with Taiwan.
Washington is Taiwan’s most key global backer and weapons supplier even though the US does not officially recognize its government, maintaining official ties only with China.
The challenges to the US posed by China exceed those of the Cold War, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell stated earlier.
Biden’s administration has also been explicit that it is not seeking a cold war with Beijing, but increasingly members of the US Congress and analysts have said escalating international competition between the two major powers resembled a new style of cold war, Reuters reported.
Beijing and Washington have kept lines of communication open in recent months. Earlier, the White House stated a call was being planned between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping soon.
