United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference, the US State Department said, as cited by Japan’s Kyodo news agency.
The planned meeting on the sidelines of the security conference (February 16-18) is part of efforts to increase high-level engagements after months of heightened tensions over issues ranging from a suspected Chinese spy balloon and Taiwan to trade restrictions, according to Kyodo.
Secretary Blinken will participate in the conference as part of the US delegation led by Vice President Kamala Harris, who will deliver a major policy speech at the event.
According to a White House statement, the US State Secretary will hold bilateral meetings to underscore the United States’ enduring support for the people of Ukraine, continue discussions with partners on how to achieve lasting peace and security in the Middle East, and highlight our steadfast commitment to transatlantic security.
Blinken will also join international partners for a public forum on multilateralism.
Last month, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks in Thailand, which the White House said were part of an effort “to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage competition in the relationship as directed by the leaders.”
Washington and Beijing separately announced that the round of talks between Sullivan and Wang Yi in Bangkok was meant to follow up on the Woodside, California, Summit held between US President Joe Biden and China’s President Xi Jinping in November 2023.
At the meeting, Biden and Xi reopened military-to-military communications.
Ties between the US and China had soured after US military fighter jets shot down the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon over the Atlantic Ocean off the Eastern Seaboard of the United States in February 2023.
Moreover, Taiwan also remains a sensitive issue in US-China relations.
During his summit with Biden, Xi asserted that China’s “reunification” with Taiwan is “unstoppable.”
In Taiwan’s presidential election held in mid-January, Lai Ching-te of the ruling, independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party won.
During an official visit to Egypt last month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, “Taiwan independence seriously threatens the wellbeing of Taiwan compatriots, seriously damages the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation, and will also seriously undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. It is a dead end and a path to ruin. China will eventually achieve complete reunification and Taiwan province will surely return to the embrace of the motherland.”v
