Blinken and China’s Wang Meet on UN Sidelines, Reports Reuters

By Humeyra Pamuk and David Brunnstrom

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met at China’s U.N. mission in New York on Friday during the U.N. General Assembly. The meeting followed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s dismissal earlier in the week of Beijing’s proposed formula to resolve the ongoing conflict with Russia.

This meeting comes amid rising concerns from the White House and the European Union regarding reports that Russia has established a weapons program in China aimed at developing long-range attack drones for use in the Ukraine war.

China has consistently expressed dissatisfaction with U.S. relations with Taiwan, criticizing American arms supplies to the island. Additionally, Beijing has called for the removal of tariffs on Chinese products and has condemned U.S. initiatives to ban the use of Chinese software and hardware in vehicles, citing national security issues.

As the world’s two largest economies, the U.S. and China face tensions over various matters, including the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, U.S. export controls on advanced chip technology, trade tariffs, Taiwan, and human rights violations.

Recently, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell indicated that the challenges posed by China to the U.S. surpass those experienced during the Cold War.

Relations between the two nations deteriorated significantly last year following the incident involving a Chinese surveillance balloon that traversed the U.S. before being shot down. However, both sides have made efforts to maintain communication to prevent competitive tensions from escalating into conflict.

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last month during three days of discussions aimed at mitigating frictions ahead of the approaching U.S. elections. Following those talks, the White House indicated plans for an upcoming call between President Joe Biden and President Xi.