WASHINGTON, United States | US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken will meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Sunday on the sidelines of the G20 in Rome, the State Department said.
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This meeting is on Mr. Blinken’s Sunday agenda. This is only the second between the two men. The previous one had taken place last March, in Alaska, and the Chinese delegation had reprimanded the American side in front of the television cameras.
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Tensions are high between the two largest economies in the world, opposed on several fronts, including trade, human rights, Taiwan and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Earlier this week, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) gave China Telecom America 60 days to shut down its services on American soil, where the Chinese company has had a presence for some 20 years. Beijing had denounced a “malicious repression” with a measure that “compromises the atmosphere of cooperation” between the two countries.
The passes of arms have multiplied in recent days between China and the United States over the fate of Taiwan, an island which enjoys a democratic system and has its own government, currency and army. . However, the territory did not proclaim formal independence. Beijing threatens to use force if it does.
This week, the President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, confirmed the presence on her territory of a small number of American soldiers who had come to train her army and said she “trusted” the United States to defend her island. against China.
AFP
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen
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Antony Blinken also aroused the ire of Beijing by pleading Tuesday in favor of “significant participation” of Taipei in UN bodies and on the international scene.
President Joe Biden also asserted that the United States had “a commitment” to defend Taiwan militarily in the event of a Chinese attack, appearing to break with “strategic ambiguity”, although his team subsequently denied any change in policy.
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