WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China’s top foreign policy leader Wang Yi are meeting in Jakarta this Thursday for talks. This was announced by the State Department in Washington late Wednesday evening (local time). The two met in Beijing just under a month ago, when Blinken became the first US Secretary of State to visit China since 2018. Wang Yi is above Foreign Minister Qin Gang in the Chinese hierarchy of power.
The rival powers want to improve their tense relations – the US Treasury Secretary ended a few days ago Janet Yellen a multi-day visit to Beijing. Points of contention include trade issues and Chinese backing for Russia’s president Wladimir Putin and its war of aggression against Ukraine, China’s territorial claims in the South and East China Seas, and Beijing’s threats to forcibly annex the democratic island republic of Taiwan.
According to his ministry, Blinken will also take part in a meeting of the Southeast Asian state association ASEAN in Indonesia. The US is courting the region’s emerging nations to counter China’s growing influence./lkl/DP/stk