Blinken calls on Beijing to quickly restore contacts between the US and Chinese armies

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told China’s top diplomat during their meeting, Thursday, that it is necessary for the two powers to restore military contacts, but it does not appear that progress has been made in this regard, according to a US official.

The official, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that during his talks in Jakarta with Wang Yi, Blinken stressed, “We have a responsibility to keep the channels of communication open between us, including between our two armies, and I think we have to do that urgently… We haven’t achieved that yet.” “.

Accusation of “electronic hacking”

Blinken met with Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Wang Yi today, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Jakarta, in an attempt to ease tensions that may flare up again between the two powers after China was accused of hacking.

The meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the “ASEAN” meeting in Jakarta, is the second between Blinken and Wang since their meeting in Beijing in June aimed at calming tensions between the two superpowers.

“It’s good to see you,” Blinken told Wang with a smile and shook hands in front of US and Chinese media at a hotel in Jakarta, then entered for talks without commenting to reporters.

The meeting went ahead despite IT giant Microsoft’s announcement two days ago that Chinese hackers had targeted e-mail accounts of a number of federal agencies and the State Department.

The Jakarta talks come about a month after Blinken’s visit to Beijing was the first by a US Secretary of State in nearly five years. During his visit, Blinken met President Xi Jinping, Foreign Minister Chen Gang, and Wang Yi.

Beijing and Washington said Blinken’s visit was a success.