In an unusual move, a press readout was not issued for an Aug. 23 meeting between U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and China’s chief envoy in Washington Qin Gang (??), which reportedly focused on Taiwan.
Tuesday’s meeting was the first between Sherman and Qin since Beijing suspended cooperation with Washington on a range of issues in protest at a visit by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan Aug. 2-3.
In a departure from Sherman’s previous two meetings with China’s ambassador in August 2021, and March this year, neither of the participants provided details or a readout for the press of the discussions, which reportedly focused on tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
Asked if the issue of Taiwan had been covered in the meeting, a U.S. State Department spokesperson told CNA in an email that Washington would continue to “seek open and constructive lines of communication to manage our differences – especially during moments of tension.”
Qin, meanwhile, declined to take questions from reporters as he left the headquarters of the Department of State following the end of the meeting.
According to Voice of America, Sherman and Qin focused on Taiwan Strait issues during the talk but also discussed other topics, including the diplomatic operations of the U.S. and Chinese embassies, restrictions related to the new coronavirus, and travel ban exemptions for Taliban officials.
China decided to halt talks with the U.S. in eight areas as “countermeasures” in response to Pelosi’s 19-hour visit to Taiwan, the first by a sitting U.S. House Speaker in 25 years.
On Aug. 5, Beijing announced the cancelation of talks with the U.S. that involve theatre-level commands, defense policy coordination, military maritime consultation, and suspension of cooperation on the repatriation of illegal immigrants, legal assistance in criminal matters, transnational crimes, counter-narcotics, and climate change.
In Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday that it had a grasp of the exchanges between the United States and China and was closely monitoring the situation.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel