Biden advisor and senior Chinese official address Taiwan in meeting

O The meeting, which was not previously announced, aims to keep the lines of communication between the two powers “open”, as agreed in November, during a meeting in California between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In a statement, the White House described as “frank” and “constructive” the talks between Finer, who is ‘number two’ on the White House National Security Council, and Liu, who heads the Communist Party’s International Liaison Department. China, responsible for maintaining contacts with other foreign parties and organizations.

Finer and Liu discussed various regional and global challenges, including the Middle East, the war in Ukraine and tensions over the Taiwan Strait, according to the same note.

The American advisor highlighted to Liu the “importance of peace and stability” around the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, through which much of world trade passes.

The two sides also reaffirmed their desire to keep communications between the two powers open and to move forward in implementing some of the agreements reached between Biden and Xi at the November summit in California.

The leaders then agreed to combat fentanyl trafficking and reopen military communication channels, in an attempt to prevent the tumultuous relationship between the two powers from descending into open conflict.

Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths every year in the United States.

The drug, manufactured from products often originating in China, is, according to Washington, introduced into the United States by Mexican cartels.

On the sidelines of the meeting between Finer and Liu, US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Chinese Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong held a virtual meeting on Wednesday in which they discussed drug trafficking, the report said. US Department of Homeland Security, in a statement.

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