China-US ties: foreign ministers to canvas friction points on G20 sidelines but no breakthrough expected

Name: US ‘looking at options’ on China tariffs, says White House spokeswoman
Uploaded: 2022-07-06T14:30:27.000Z
Duration: 34 s
Description: US ‘looking at options’ on China tariffs, says White House spokeswoman

Wang Yi and Antony Blinken are expected to exchange views on China’s human rights record, the Ukraine war and American presence in the Indo-Pacific in Bali

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman urged Washington to use ‘concrete actions to protect the political basis’ of bilateral ties

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in Bali this week. Photo: AFP

Jack Lau

Published: 10:30pm, 6 Jul 2022Updated: 11:59pm, 6 Jul 2022

A meeting between the Chinese and US foreign ministers this week paves the way for more engagement between China’s President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden, but Chinese analysts do not expect breakthroughs.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken are expected to exchange views on a string of disagreements – from China’s human rights record to the Ukraine war and American presence in the Indo-Pacific – while on the sidelines of the Group of 20 foreign ministers’ meeting to be held in Bali, Indonesia, on Thursday and Friday.

The Biden administration has stepped up in the Indo-Pacific, forging alliances and partnerships and investing more in the region to counter China, which Washington has described as a “pacing threat” for using its economic might to pressure other countries into accepting Beijing’s policy positions.

While both countries have continued high-level talks to try to manage the relationship, dialogue has not been enough to defuse tensions.

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US ‘looking at options’ on China tariffs, says White House spokeswoman

China’s top diplomat, Communist Party Politburo member Yang Jiechi, met US national security adviser Jake Sullivan in Rome in March. Observers said official meetings between the two sides could be making way for Xi and Biden to engage. The two presidents had a virtual summit days later.

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