Blinken urges calm on Taiwan in talks with China

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly

Taiwanese soldiers prepare to load US-made Harpoon anti-ship missiles in front of an F-16V fighter jet during a drill at Hualien Air Force base in August 2022

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Friday for calm over Taiwan as he met his Chinese counterpart, as soaring tensions showed signs of easing a notch.

Blinken met for 90 minutes with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, in talks a US official described as "extremely candid" and focused largely on Taiwan.

He "discussed the need to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage the US-PRC relationship, especially during times of tension," it added, using the acronym for the People's Republic of China.

The official said Blinken also renewed US warnings not to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine, amid guarded US hopes that Beijing is taking a distance from Moscow, nominally its ally.

Blinken, who went ahead with the talks despite the death of his father the previous day, met Wang for the first time since a sit-down in July in Bali, where both sides appeared optimistic for more stability.

And in an interview aired Sunday, President Joe Biden said he was ready to intervene militarily if China uses force in Taiwan, once again deviating from decades of US ambiguity.

Wang told Blinken that China wished for "peaceful reunification" with Taiwan and warned that "the more rampant 'Taiwan independence' activities are, the less likely a peaceful solution would be," according to the foreign ministry.

- Taiwan the 'biggest risk' -

But in a speech before his talks with Blinken, Wang called Taiwan "the biggest risk in China-US relations" and accused the United States of stoking pro-independence forces.

"Just as the US will not allow Hawaii to be stripped away, China has the right to uphold the unification of the country," he said.

But Wang was conciliatory toward Biden. The New York talks are expected to lay the groundwork for a first meeting between Biden and President Xi Jinping since they became their two countries' leaders, likely in Bali in November on the sidelines of a summit of the Group of 20 economic powers.

The US Congress is a stronghold of support for Taiwan, a vibrant democracy and major technological power.

Tensions have also risen over human rights, with the United States accusing the communist state of carrying out genocide against the mostly Muslim Uyghur people.

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