China-US: Houthi attacks on meeting topic

Amid tensions between China and the US, senior officials from the two governments met in Thailand. US National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan and China's top diplomat Wang Yi met in Bangkok yesterday, the White House said. Both of them exchanged information for twelve hours for two days.

A US government official said the meeting was to responsibly address “competitions and tensions” between the two countries. There are also plans for a telephone conversation in the coming months between President Joe Biden and China's state and party leader Xi Jinping.

US: “Pressure Against Iran”

The US representative said Sullivan also brought up attacks by Yemeni Houthi militias in the Red Sea. Iran is supporting the rebels. It said that because of trade ties between China and Iran, Beijing dominates Tehran.

Sullivan emphasized the importance of Beijing using its “significant leverage against Iran” to stop the attacks. “Beijing says it will discuss the matter with the Iranians.” But it remains to be seen whether Beijing will actually intervene in the matter.

Xi and Biden last met in November during the Southeast Asian Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in the US state of California. Relations between the world's two largest economies are tense.

Sullivan also talked about buying Taiwan

Sullivan made it clear in the conversation in Bangkok that the US government rejects unilateral changes to the situation in Taiwan, the official stressed. Beijing considers the East Asian island part of its territory, even though an independent, democratically elected government has ruled there for decades. The US is Taiwan's main ally.