new york — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that China’s words and actions regarding ending Russia’s war on Ukraine do not “add up,” as the Beijing government continues to allow Chinese companies to “fuel Russia’s war machine.”
The United States and China are planning a call between President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping in the coming days, with China’s material support for Russia in the war on Ukraine expected to be a key topic on the U.S. agenda.
Friday afternoon, Blinken held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
Ukraine
Following talks that lasted more than an hour, Blinken told reporters at a news conference that any peace plan to end Russia’s war on Ukraine must be based on the principles of the U.N. Charter, particularly territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.
“A peace in which the aggressor gets everything that it sought, and the victim does not have its rights upheld, is not a recipe for a lasting peace, and certainly not a just one,” Blinken said when asked about a peace proposal by China and Brazil.
Earlier on Friday, China and Brazil pushed forward with efforts to rally developing countries behind a plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s rejection of the initiative, viewing it as favorable to Moscow’s interests.
The meeting between Blinken and Wang came amid growing U.S. concerns over Chinese firms supplying semiconductor chips and drones to Moscow, which have significantly bolstered Russia’s battlefield capabilities in its war against Ukraine.
Blinken said, “Roughly 70% of the machine tools that Russia’s importing, coming from China, Hong Kong. Ninety percent of the microelectronics, from China, Hong Kong. And this is materially helping the Russians produce the missiles, the rockets, the armored vehicles, the munitions that they need to perpetuate the war, to continue their aggression.”
In New York, Wang told reporters that China had discussed with other countries the importance of preventing escalation in Russia’s war on Ukraine.
“Russia and Ukraine are neighbors that cannot be moved away from each other and amity is the only realistic option,” Wang said, emphasizing that other nations should support an international peace conference involving Russia and Ukraine.
Taiwan
On Friday, Blinken said he also “emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait” during the meeting with his Chinese counterpart.
Rick Waters, former deputy assistant secretary of state for China and Taiwan, said the United States and China share an interest in maintaining diplomatic and military communication.
“You’re not going to resolve disputes over Taiwan or the South China Sea in those channels, but I don’t think either leader wants a military mishap to put them in a corner where they might have to contend with escalation or, even worse, conflict,” Waters, now managing director of Eurasia Group’s China practice, said in a recent interview with VOA.
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) will celebrate its National Day on Tuesday, commemorating the founding of the country in 1949.
Taiwan celebrates October 10, known as “Double 10,” as the anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China (ROC) in 1912. The Republic of China is Taiwan’s formal name.
Taiwan has been self-ruled since 1949, when Mao Zedong’s communists took power in Beijing after defeating Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang nationalists in a civil war, prompting the nationalists’ relocation to the island.
PRC leaders usually carefully watch the speeches from leaders in Taiwan during its Double 10 celebrations.
Since Taiwan’s democratically elected President Lai Ching-te took office in May, Beijing has increased military pressure against Taiwan. The PRC has deemed Lai a separatist.
U.S. officials have stressed to their Chinese counterparts that the more pressure China applies to Taiwan, the more it risks pushing Taiwan further away, according to sources familiar with recent diplomatic discussions between Washington and Beijing.
Analysts indicate they do not expect Lai to advocate for issues considered taboo by China in the coming months.
“Taiwan President Lai has been quite careful not to touch China’s red lines in his public remarks since becoming the president of Taiwan,” Dennis Wilder, senior fellow for the Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues at Georgetown University, told VOA. “I would guess that he will try again to reach out to Beijing and do not expect him to push independence themes.”
Wilder added, “The Chinese leadership came to the conclusion long ago that because of Lai’s deep green background they would never be able to trust him. Thus, there is very little he can do, as was the case as well with former President Tsai [Ing-wen], to convince Beijing that they should improve cross-strait relations while he is in office.” He was referring to Taiwan’s political coalition known for its pro-independence platform.
VOA’s Mandarin Service contributed to this report.
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