The United States on Wednesday said China has shut down some key communication channels and cooperation on several vital issues that affect the entire world.
Speaking at a press briefing, State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said that Washington continues to seek an open and constructive line of communication to manage our differences. “We have and will continue to keep the lines of communication open with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). “Beijing has shut down some key communication channels and cooperation across several vital issues that affect the entire world, but the United States continues to seek an open and constructive line of communication to manage our differences,” said Patel, who is Principal deputy spokesperson, Bureau of Global Public Affairs.
These remarks come following the meeting between US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and the Chinese ambassador to the United States, Qin Gang, on 23 August.
Patel declined to elaborate on the topics or duration of Tuesday’s meeting between the two senior diplomats, but said the US will continue to take calm and resolute steps to uphold peace and stability in the region as well as support Taiwan in line with the country’s longstanding “one China” policy.
Last week, China expressed its outrage after Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb’s visit to Taiwan. This was the second such visit by the US delegation after the short trip of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that angered China and set off military tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
“I landed in Taipei to kick off an economic development trip in Taiwan and South Korea. Indiana is home to 10 Taiwanese and 12 South Korean businesses. This week marks my 2nd trip to South Korea as Governor, and I’m proud to be the first governor to visit Taiwan since before the pandemic, “Holcomb tweeted.
Chinese state media outlets said this visit “shows a toxic trend of US politicians using Taiwan as a pawn after Pelosi’s provocative visit to this island earlier this month.”
According to the Global Times, China will proceed at its own pace to resolve the Taiwan issue, perfecting the already normalised operations across the Taiwan Straits and preparing to launch operations at any time. “Holcomb’s visit is apparently a toxic sequel to the visit made by Pelosi, who encouraged US politicians to believe that since her visit has intensified the tensions across the Taiwan Straits, others can exploit such tensions to achieve their personal political gains and show their presence,” Lu Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday. Lu said after Pelosi’s “provocative” visit, China has been upping the ante of strengthening its posture; “when the US move crosses the redline, we can take whatever measures that are necessary.” That’s what matters now.