US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are scheduled to hold talks in New York on Friday.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will hold talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, currently underway in New York.
A statement from the US State Department said that the meeting is a part of Washington's ongoing efforts to "maintain open lines of communication and manage competition responsibly."
Tensions between the two nations soared following a visit to Taiwan by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last month and President Joe Biden's explicit pledge to defend the self-ruled island that China claims as its territory.
Where does China stand?
Earlier this week, Biden had said that US forces would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, irking Beijing.
China responded by saying that Washington should not send the "wrong signals" pertaining to Taiwanese "independence."
This week Wang also met former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger -- the man known for being the architect of US relations with communist China.
The Chinese foreign minister said in the meeting that a "peaceful reunification" with Taiwan was Beijing's aspiration.
But he added that the possibility of a peaceful resolution was diminished by ever more "rampant" Taiwanese independence sentiment.
What has the Chinese foreign minister said in New York ahead of the meeting?
Shortly before his talks with Blinken, Wang once again expressed anger over US support for the island.
"The Taiwan question is growing into the biggest risk in China-US relations. Should it be mishandled it is most likely to devastate bilateral ties," Wang said in a speech at the Asia Society think tank.
"Just as the US will not allow Hawaii to be stripped away, China has the right to uphold the unification of the country," he added.
He also criticized the US decision to "allow" the Taipei visit by Pelosi.
The talks between Blinken and Wang are expected to lay the groundwork for a meeting between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, which would be their first since Biden took office.
That meeting is likely to be held in Bali on the margins of a G20 summit in November.
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