WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with a senior Chinese diplomat on Friday as the Biden administration tries to defuse tensions over Taiwan as the island holds its presidential elections.
Blinken spoke with Liu Jianchao, the international minister of the Chinese Communist Party. Hours later, he met with Yoko Kamikawa, the foreign minister of Japan, one of the United States’ strongest allies in Asia.
The Biden administration is trying to contain tensions in the Taiwan Strait should the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, known to lean toward independence, win Saturday’s election. Beijing, which considers Taiwan part of Chinese territory, has suggested to voters that they could choose between peace and war.
The US is not supporting any candidate in Taiwan’s presidential election and plans to send an unofficial delegation to the island shortly after the election.
In addition to Taiwan, Blinken and Kamikawa discussed the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and preparations for a state visit by the Japanese prime minister to the US, possibly in early March, according to the Japan Today news site.
“As the world reaches a turning point, the role of the Japan-US alliance in addressing various issues has never been greater,” Kamikawa said, as reported by Japan Today.
Blinken told Kamikawa that the alliance “is truly the cornerstone of peace, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,” according to a State Department transcript.
Liu’s meeting with Blinken was part of a U.S. trip that took the veteran Chinese diplomat to New York earlier this week, where he said Beijing believes U.S. statements do not support Taiwan’s independence. “And we hope that the American side will keep this promise,” Liu told the Council on Foreign Relations.
“For China, the Taiwan issue is at the core of its core interests. It is the red line that should not be crossed,” said Liu, who is likely to become China’s next foreign minister when the Chinese Congress convenes in March.
Beijing has criticized Washington for supplying the island with weapons it says could embolden those seeking Taiwan’s independence. The US has a security treaty with Taiwan to protect the island from any armed attack from the mainland, and any military conflict in the Taiwan Strait could affect the US.
Speaking to the Council on Foreign Relations, Liu said Beijing does not want war.
“China remains steadfast in pursuing an independent foreign peace policy and is committed to peaceful development,” Liu said. “President Xi Jinping reiterated during his recent visit to the United States that China will not engage in a cold war or a hot war with anyone. .”
Liu assured his audience that China is not trying to change the world order.
“China is not trying to change the current international order, let alone reinvent the wheel by creating a new international order,” Liu said. “We are one of the builders of the current world order and have benefited from it.”
Beijing’s goal, Liu said, is to “provide a better life for the Chinese people.”
“So we don’t really have a hidden agenda. Overtaking the United States is not our goal,” he said.
Liu signaled that Beijing may abandon its “wolf-warrior” diplomacy, which critics say has alienated China from the West.
“I think the fundamental goal of Chinese diplomats would be to contribute their efforts to ensure that China’s relations with other countries are warm and cooperative,” Liu said. “And by that we mean that we are trying to create a favorable international environment for China’s modernization.”