Blinken will meet with the head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry during the G20 Summit

The US State Department announced Tuesday, without setting a date, that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi this week. The occasion of the meeting will be the G20 foreign ministers summit in Bali, which begins on Thursday.

AFP reports that the talks between the Chinese and US foreign ministers will take place at a time when relations between the two countries are very tense, not only due to trade disputes and Beijing’s position on Taiwan, but also because China has not condemned Russian aggression. against Ukraine.

During Blinken’s conversation with Wang in January, the Chinese minister said Russia’s security concerns about Ukraine should be taken seriously because they are “legitimate.” He also said, “The top priority now is for the United States… to stop playing with fire on Taiwan.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech before the recent BRICS summit in Beijing, in which he said “expanding military alliances” is to blame for the crisis in Ukraine.