Blinken and Wang Yi held talks for the second time this summer

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had “frank and constructive” talks with Wang Yi, head of the office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, transmits Reuters. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, less than a month after their June talks in Beijing.

“The meeting was part of an ongoing effort to maintain open channels of communication to clarify US interests on a wide range of issues and to manage competition responsibly by reducing the risk of misperceptions and miscalculations,” a State Department official said.

During the talks, as noted, Blinken raised the issue of China’s alleged involvement in hacker attacks on the United States, and Wang Yi raised the issue of Washington’s interference in Beijing’s affairs. The American side also reiterated the importance of “maintaining peace and stability” in the Taiwan Strait.

“The United States must refrain from unjustified interference in China’s internal affairs, refrain from compromising China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, stop suppressing China’s economy, trade and technology, and lift illegal and unjustified sanctions against China,” the Chinese diplomat said during the meeting.

On June 18, Blinken arrived in Beijing, where he held talks first with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, and on June 19 met with his boss Wang Yi. On the same day, Blinken held a 35-minute meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Xi praised the outcome of the meeting with the US Secretary of State. “The two sides have made progress and reached agreement on some specific issues. It’s very good,” he said at the time.

Blinken’s visit was the first visit to China by a senior American diplomat in five years. The trip was supposed to take place back in February, but fell through due to an incident with a balloon in US airspace.

From July 6 to 9, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited China. She said at a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on July 7 that Washington is committed to healthy competition with China, in which “the winner does not take all” but both sides benefit. How wrote Vedomosti, Yellen’s talks in China showed that the two largest world economies are aware of the need for cooperation, but are not ready to sacrifice their interests for the sake of improving relations.

Earlier today Wang Yi spent negotiations within the framework of the ASEAN summit and with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The parties, as reported, highly appreciated the cooperation of the countries “against the background of increased turbulence of the world system.” The parties paid special attention to the process of implementing the agreements that have been reached at the highest political level since the beginning of 2023.