On August 24, the US said that China has cut off key communication channels and cooperation on a number of critical issues affecting the entire world. Vedant Patel, a spokesperson for the State Department, stated during a press conference that Washington is still looking for an avenue for “constructive and open” discussion to resolve the differences.
Patel, Principal deputy spokesperson for Bureau of Global Public Affairs, said, “We have and will continue to keep the lines of communication open with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Beijing has shut down some key communication channels and cooperation across several vital issues that affect the entire world, but the United States continues to seek an open and constructive line of communication to manage our differences.”
These statements follow the August 23 meeting between Qin Gang, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, and Wendy Sherman, the US deputy secretary of state. The US continues to take calm and determined action to uphold peace and stability in the region and to support Taiwan in accordance with the country’s long-standing ‘One China’ policy, according to Patel, who declined to go into further details about the subjects or length of the two senior diplomats’ meeting on August 23.
China expressed outrage over Indiana Governor’s trip to Taiwan
China expressed its outrage last week following Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb’s trip to Taiwan. This comes following the brief trip of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which infuriated China and sparked military tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
According to the Chinese state media, Holcomb’s visit “shows a toxic trend of US politicians using Taiwan as a pawn following Pelosi’s provocative visit to this island earlier this month.” The Global Times reported that China will proceed at its own pace in resolving the Taiwan issue, perfecting the already normalised operations across the Taiwan Straits in order to launch operations at any time.
China claims that Taiwan is the most important issue in its diplomatic relations with the United States. Taiwan’s government claims that Beijing has no right to decide who it engages because it has never ruled the island. China’s military drills around Taiwan continue, which some analysts believe are a simulation of a full-scale attack on the island of 22 million people.
Image: AP