Over Saturday and Sunday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan engaged in a series of meetings they described as “candid, substantive and constructive.”
The two-day meeting took place in Malta and aimed to stabilise relations, which have suffered this year over a wide range of issues, including espionage cases, American arms sales to Taiwan, and supply chain issues.
On Taiwan
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that Wang emphasised that the Taiwan issue is the “first insurmountable red line” in the two powers’ relations. He called on Washington to abide by their three joint communiqués and implement its commitment to refrain from supporting “Taiwan independence.”
With regard to Chinese allegations of the US attempting to contain China’s development, Wang said that the Chinese people’s “legitimate right to development cannot be deprived. It cannot be stopped.”
Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee Wang Yi and U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan conducted candid, substantive and constructive strategic communication on stabilizing, improving China-U.S. relations in Malta.… pic.twitter.com/opLNhVMana
— Embassy of The People's Republic of China in India (@China_Amb_India) September 18, 2023
US Comments
A senior official of the Biden administration told reporters that Sullivan also raised Washington’s concerns with China’s “provision of different types of assistance to Russia.”
However, she added that US officials had “not seen to date any lethal assistance”
In addition, the two spoke about the US’s recent upgrading of ties with Vietnam, following which the US had issued clarification that the move was not a Cold War-style move against China.
The high-profile diplomats also spoke about Chinese actions in the South China Sea, as well as “additional high-level engagements . . . including upcoming meetings between senior officials,” she said.
China and the US “committed to consultation in two areas, specifically on political and security developments in the Asia-Pacific, as well as maritime and arms control issues and a policy planning consultation,” she stated.