US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday that the United States opposes Beijing’s actions to heighten tensions in the Taiwan Strait, Reuters reports.
During a one-hour meeting between the two officials on the G20 summit, Blinken “made it very clear” that the United States would oppose any unilateral change in the status quo in the China-Taiwan situation.
The United States wants to manage domestic competition between the world’s two largest economies responsibly, a State Department official said, adding that both sides acknowledged that keeping communication open is essential.
China’s recent actions on Taiwan have caused tensions between the two countries on the one hand, and between China and the United States on the other. China has also adopted aggressive, but unsuccessful, rhetoric against European countries that have opened channels of communication with Taiwan.
Tensions have escalated in recent weeks, especially after threats from China that it could annex the island by military invasion, but also by frequent and aggressive incursions by Chinese aviation into Taiwanese airspace.
On Thursday, the Taiwanese president confirmed that American troops are on the island to train local forces for a possible war triggered by China.
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Editor: Adrian Dumitru
