US, Chinese foreign ministers hold first in person talks since October

NUSA DUA, INDONESIA:

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi met on Saturday for the first in-person talks since October after attending a G20 summit where the top U.S. diplomat led efforts to pressure Russia over its war in Ukraine.

U.S. officials say Blinken's meeting with Wang in Bali, Indonesia, including a morning session of talks and a working lunch, is aimed at keeping the difficult U.S. relationship with China stable and preventing it from veering inadvertently into conflict.

"There is no substitute for face to face ... diplomacy, and in a relationship as complex and consequential as the one between the United States and China there is a lot to talk about," Blinken told reporters at the beginning of the meeting.

"We very much look forward to a productive and constructive conversation," he said.

Blinken is expected to repeat warnings to China not to support Russia's war in Ukraine and the two sides will address contentious issues that include Taiwan, China's extensive South China Sea claims, its expansion of influence in the Pacific, human rights, and trade tariffs.

However, both sides share an interest in keeping the relationship stable and Blinken and U.S. officials say President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to speak again in coming weeks, something Saturday's meeting is likely to address.

"China and the United States are two major countries, so it is necessary for the two countries to maintain normal exchanges," Wang told reporters.

However, both sides share an interest in keeping the relationship stable and Blinken and U.S. officials say President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to speak again in coming weeks, something Saturday's meeting is likely to address.

"China and the United States are two major countries, so it is necessary for the two countries to maintain normal exchanges," Wang told reporters.