Blinken and Wang clash over US interference in Chinese Taipei

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has clashed with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, saying the United States will keep providing military assistance to Chinese Taipei as Beijing warned Washington must end its interference on the island.

Meeting on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit on Sunday in Rome, Italy, top American and Chinese diplomats traded warnings against moves that could further escalate tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

Wang told Blinken that Chinese Taipei is the most sensitive issue for China. “We require the United States to pursue a real one China policy, not a fake one China policy,” Wang was quoted by the Chinese ministry as saying.

"We request the US to fulfill its commitments to China, rather than betray its promises," Wang said.

Blinken made "crystal clear" that the US opposes any unilateral changes by Beijing to the status quo around Chinese Taipei, a senior State Department official said, according to Reuters.

US officials described the hour-long meeting as “exceptionally candid” but productive and said it would help lay the groundwork for a virtual summit between US President Joe Biden, and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year.

Wang expressed China's "solemn concern over various issues on which the US side has damaged China's legitimate rights and interests, and asked the US side to change its course and promote China-US relations back to the track of healthy development", China's Foreign Ministry said in the statement.

Wang said it was misleading of the United States to blame China for a change in the status quo on Chinese Taipei, saying it is American “connivance” and “support” for rebel forces in Taipei that are at fault.

China has sovereignty over Chinese Taipei, and under the "One China" policy, almost all world countries recognize that sovereignty. The US, too, recognizes Chinese sovereignty over the island but has long courted Taipei in an attempt to unnerve Beijing.

ME