US Secretary of State Antony Blinken joins government officials from the U.S. and China during a meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 19, 2023.
Leah Millis/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
Meredith Oyen, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Remarks by the US president come amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing and follow a contentious visit to Taiwan by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
People walk past a billboard welcoming U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in Taipei, Taiwan, on Aug. 3, 2022.
(AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
China and the US have differing interpretations of the law of the sea – and this is fuelling deep distrust and suspicion.
Taiwanese president, Tsai Ing-wen, says her country will boost its defensive capabilities to address the pressure from mainland China.
EPA-EFE/Ritchie B. Tongo