Blinken plans to meet with the Chinese Communist Party's diplomatic official in Jakarta

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to meet with the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Communist Party of China, Wang Yi, on Thursday in Jakarta, as announced in a program released by the US State Department.

The meeting, which will take place on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Jakarta, is the second between Blinken and Wang since their meeting in Beijing in June, aiming to ease tensions between the two major powers.

The US Secretary's schedule includes a meeting on the sidelines of the "ASEAN Plus Three" summit in the Indonesian capital.

Despite Microsoft's recent announcement that Chinese hackers breached the email accounts of the US government, including the State Department, there has been no change in plans for this meeting.

The talks in Jakarta come about a month after Blinken's visit to Beijing, which was the first by a US Secretary of State in nearly five years. During his visit, Blinken met with President Xi Jinping, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, as well as Wang Yi, the director of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Both Beijing and Washington have stated that Blinken's visit was successful.

Since then, diplomatic activities between the two major powers have been escalating.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited Beijing last week, in addition to a visit by US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry from Sunday to Wednesday.

Tensions have been rising in recent years between the world's two largest economies over a range of issues, including Taiwan and the restrictions imposed by Washington on the export of advanced semiconductors.

Neither side expects these renewed diplomatic efforts to achieve a breakthrough, but they are seeking to manage their disputes to ensure they do not escalate into direct conflict.

 

AFP