The US and China yesterday resumed top-level talks after months of spiraling tension, looking to see if they could find a way forward on disputes from trade to military friction.
The delayed meeting in Washington comes weeks before US President Donald Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina, with both sides hoping they can announce some progress.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US Secretary of Defense James Mattis spent yesterday morning with two high-ranking Chinese policymakers, days after US midterm elections during which Trump painted China as a bogeyman.
Photo: Reuters
A planned trip by Mattis to Beijing last month was canceled amid rising military tensions, but yesterday Chinese Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe (魏鳳和) was to visit the Pentagon to attend a ceremonial honor cordon.
The defense chiefs beforehand were to hold talks at the US Department of State jointly with Pompeo and Chinese State Counselor Yang Jiechi (楊潔篪), a longtime architect of Chinese foreign policy who formerly served as Chinese ambassador to the US.
The talks were to focus on security, but trade is at the heart of tensions. Trump has slapped US$250 billion of tariffs on Chinese goods, accusing Beijing of nefarious trading practices, prompting retaliatory measures.
While some of the Trump administration’s comments on China have prompted commentators to draw parallels to the Cold War, US ambassador to China Terry Branstad said that Washington was not seeking confrontation for its own sake.
“We want this to be a constructive, results-oriented relationship with China. The US is not trying to contain China, but we want fairness and reciprocity,” Branstad told reporters on the eve of the talks.
In Beijing, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) yesterday said that China hopes the talks “will bring very good results,” and help “deepen understanding” and “accelerate collaboration between both sides.”
Branstad said the talks would consist of “frank, open exchanges” on issues from human rights to the myriad maritime disputes in the South China Sea.
“We want to achieve progress on our priorities, including North Korea, and China has been a very key player in helping to get North Korea to the bargaining table,” Branstad said.
In a meeting with former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger in Beijing on Thursday, Xi said it was “noteworthy that negative voices concerning China have been rising for some time in the United States,” Xinhua news agency reported.
However, Xi added that he had agreed to meet Trump in Argentina, where “the two sides can have an in-depth exchange of views on issues of common concern.”
China, Xi said, “is still committed to the building of a relationship with the United States that features no conflicts, no confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation.”
Washington has been especially incensed at what it believes is widespread theft of US technology — a charge that China denies.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique