U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken addresses the U.N. Security Council meeting on maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine on Thursday. Photo by Evan Schneider/UN
Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday met with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in a meeting that discussed several high-profile issues including Taiwan.
The State Department said that Blinken told Wang that the U.S. was committed to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. at U.N. headquarters in New York City. The event comes after President Joe Biden's promise to defend Taiwan militarily if Beijing launched an attack on the island, which China claims as a territory.
"The Secretary stressed that preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is critical to regional and global security and prosperity," the department said in a statement.
Blinked also reiterated U.S. condemnation of the war in Ukraine and highlighted implications if China were to help support Moscow.
Wang warned during a speech at the General Assembly that a confrontation between the United States and China is inevitable if Washington doesn't change the way it deals with Beijing.
Blinken on Thursday reconfirmed Biden's commitment to defend Taiwan.
Friday's meeting take place after Blinken's father Donald died on Thursday night at the age of 96. Donald Blinken was an investment banker and a former U.S. ambassador to Hungary between 1994 and 1997.
Blinken was forced to alter his schedule a bit on Thursday night due to his father's death.
Some of the notable speakers who were also scheduled to address the General Assembly on Friday include Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, European Union President Charles Michel, New Zealand President Jacinda Ardern, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi.
