China

Taiwan was the focus of talks in New York on Friday between the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

But had they been unable to meet, it would have meant the prospects for a summit in November were poor,” said Russel, now with the Asia Society. It was also the latest instance of his appearing to go beyond a long-standing US policy of “strategic ambiguity,” which does not make it clear whether the United States would respond militarily to an attack on Taiwan. The State Department had said earlier that Blinken’s meeting with Wang was part of a US effort to “maintain open lines of communication and manage competition responsibly,” and the senior official said Blinken had reiterated US openness to “cooperating with China on matters of global concern.” Taiwan’s foreign ministry, responding to the meeting between Blinken and Wang, said China’s “recent provocative actions” had made the Taiwan Strait a focus of discussion, and China was trying to “confuse the international audience with arguments and criticisms that contradict reality.” [Eurasia Group](https://www.eurasiagroup.net) said in note on Saturday that “US domestic political dynamics are increasing the risk of a major crisis or even a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait”, although it rated the probability of military conflict at 10% and the probability to a major cross-strait security crisis over the next two years at 20%. China has warned that the United States it is sending “very wrong, dangerous signals” on Taiwan – which was the focus of talks in New York on Friday between the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.