The head of American diplomacy, Anthony Blinnen, yesterday stressed to a high-ranking Chinese official the importance of “maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait”, just hours before the election of a new president of the autonomous island, which Beijing considers Chinese. province.

Briefly returning to Washington after his tour of the Middle East and before departing for Davos, Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum, the US secretary of state met with Liu Jiangchao, head of the international relations department of his central committee. Chinese Communist Party.

During that meeting, Anthony Blinken “reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait” and in the South China Sea – an area disputed by China and the Philippines – according to a briefing by Matthew Miller, his spokesman. US State Department.

Washington does not recognize Taiwan as a state and regards the government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal representative of the Chinese nation. However, the US provides significant military aid to the island, underlining that it is in favor of the status quo which, according to them, guarantees peace.

The United States, which will send an informal delegation to the island after the presidential election, “recognizes that it is up to the voters of Taiwan to decide their next leader freely and without outside interference,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said Thursday.

Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank in New York on Tuesday, Liu Jiangchao struck a conciliatory tone, praising Sino-US cooperation and trying to play down the war rhetoric. He also appeared measured when answering questions about Taiwan, avoiding saying how China would react to the outcome of the presidential election and noting “the commitment of the US not to support Taiwan’s independence.”

The visit by Liu Jianchao, an official seen as a rising star in Beijing, comes as the US and China try to de-escalate tensions in the wake of the November meeting between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping in California. Tensions between the two economic superpowers peaked about a year ago when Washington sent fighter jets to shoot down a Chinese hot air balloon it claimed was a spy, which Beijing denied.

“The two sides had a constructive discussion on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues” and recognized the importance “of maintaining open channels of communication between the United States and the People’s Republic of China,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said afterward. Anthony Blinken’s meeting with Liu Jianchao.

The two officials also discussed North Korea, Ukraine and the Middle East. Regarding the last issue, Blinken underlined that it is important to avoid the spread of the war between Israel and Hamas in the wider region. At the same time, he stressed that free navigation in the Red Sea must be ensured, as the armed forces of the US and Britain pound positions of the Houthi rebels in Yemen, in retaliation for their attacks on merchant ships.