Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that “Taiwan independence” posed the biggest risk to China-US ties.

Beijing: ‘The independence of Taiwan’ posses the biggest risk to China-US ties, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday (local time), Al Jazeera reported. Minister Wang Yi met United States National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in Bangkok and had a productive meeting concerning the implementation of the consensus established during the San Francisco meeting. The two “had candid, substantive, and fruitful strategic communication on implementing the consensus reached at the San Francisco meeting… and on properly handling important and sensitive issues in China-US relations,” statement of China’s Foreign Ministry read, as per Al Jazeera.

Notably, the meeting between the Chinese Foreign Minister and US National Security Adviser was held just over two months after Chinese President Xi Jinping and his American counterpart Joe Biden met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco.
As per the White House, the meeting between the ministers was “part of the effort to maintain open lines of communication” between the two countries. Jake Sullivan emphasised the importance of preventing competition between the US and China from escalating into conflict or confrontation, the White House added.

Beijing and Washington have previously clashed on issues related to technology, trade, human rights, and Taiwan, which China claims as its territory.
Meanwhile, the recent Taiwanese election saw the Democratic Progressive Party (DDP) secure a third term. The DPP is resistant to China’s claim over Taiwan.

This week, two US lawmakers met Taiwan’s new leader, Lai Ching-te, to reaffirm Washington’s support for the self-governing island.
This was the second group to arrive in Taiwan since the election, after Biden sent an unofficial delegation to congratulate Lai two days after the vote, as per Al Jazeera.

As per China’s foreign ministry, Wang stressed in the meeting with Sullivan that Taiwan was “China’s internal affair and the regional election in Taiwan cannot change the basic reality that Taiwan is part of China.”

“The biggest risk to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the so-called ‘Taiwan independence’ movement. The biggest challenge to China-US relations is also the ‘Taiwan independence’ movement,” it added, according to Al Jazeera.