Top China envoy and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken hold ‘constructive’ talks ahead of Taiwan elections

Closed-door discussions ‘including areas of potential cooperation’ are latest development in CCP official’s visit promoting ‘common understanding’
Meeting in Washington comes at delicate moment in Sino-American relations, with both sides of late eager to make headway

US-China relations

Khushboo Razdanin Washington

Published: 8:16am, 13 Jan 2024

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A top Chinese Communist Party envoy met senior US officials at the State Department in Washington, hours before voters in Taiwan elect their next leader and legislature as the two sides seek to restore dialogue and stabilise ties.

Liu Jianchao, who leads the CCP’s diplomatic arm, joined US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in closed-door discussions on Friday morning as part of his ongoing American visit to promote what he described as “common understanding”.

“The two sides had a constructive discussion on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues, including areas of potential cooperation,” the State Department said in a terse readout of the meeting that also cited “areas of difference” without elaborating.

Blinken “reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the South China Sea”, it added.

Xie Feng, China’s ambassador to the US, attended the meeting, as did US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for China and Taiwan Mark Lambert.

The meeting on Friday came at a highly sensitive time for both countries as they wait to see how voters in self-ruled Taiwan cast their ballots on Saturday for a new president and parliament.

The high-level diplomatic talks also coincided with a delicate moment in Sino-American relations, with both sides eager to patch over what had been a deteriorating trajectory.

Since taking office, US President Joe Biden on multiple occasions has said America would defend Taiwan if mainland China tried to invade.

Yet in recent months Biden has sought to stabilise ties with Beijing, while continuing with actions that hobble China’s technology advances on fears of inadvertently empowering the People’s Liberation Army.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Like most countries, the US does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state.

But Washington maintains robust unofficial ties with Taipei, opposes any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons – positions that anger Beijing.

Bilateral tensions have increased amid what Washington describes as mainland China’s military aggression in the Taiwan Strait and what Beijing sees as its “internal affairs.” In the run-up to the polls, the island has reported spotting Chinese aircraft and balloons crossing the sensitive median line.

On Friday, China’s defence ministry pledged to take “all necessary measures” to defeat Taiwan separatism.

Liu on Thursday stated China’s positions on “issues like Taiwan” at a meeting with US deputy national security adviser Jonathan Finer, according to a Chinese readout.

And during an event in New York this week, Liu said Beijing’s stance on Taiwan remained “clear, strong and unchanged”.

Despite heightened tensions before the Taiwan elections, communication between the world’s two largest economies improved after Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in San Francisco in November.

This week Chinese and American officials held their first formal military talks since 2021. And next week senior officials from both countries are slated to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.