Blinken: There is a reduction in tension with China

Taiwan: US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced Friday that there is a decrease in tension with China, but he reiterated his concern about Taiwan.

Taiwan: US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced Friday that there is a decrease in tension with China, but he reiterated his concern about Taiwan.

Asked at the University of Chicago whether tensions have decreased with the Asian giant, Blinken replied: “I think so because when you talk and engage, it tends to have its effect.”

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“The rest of the world expects us to manage this relationship responsibly,” he said because other countries “know that it will affect them as well.”

Blinken will travel to Beijing on February 5-6, according to a US official, the first visit of this level to China since his Republican predecessor Mike Pompeo’s visit in 2018. US Presidents Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on the visit on the sidelines of a summit in Indonesia in November.

At the same time, Blinken expressed his concern about Taiwan, referring to Beijing’s attempts to isolate the island, which the Chinese government considers part of its territory, and pointing to a series of military manoeuvres.

“What we’ve seen over the last few years is, I think, that China has decided that they are no longer comfortable with the status quo” on the island, he said.

“This is what we say to the Chinese: You say it is a matter of your sovereignty, and we answer you that this is directly related to the United States and the rest of the world,” Blinken added, referring to Taiwan’s important role in the global economy due to its semiconductor industry.

Blinken went to Chicago (north) on Friday, where he met especially members of the Ukrainian community.

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