US, China tackled need for open lines of communication: Statement

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The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi tackled the importance of maintaining open lines of communication between the two countries on Friday, according to the state department.

In a statement, the state department added that Blinken told Wang that the US is committed to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and emphasized the repercussions of Beijing supporting the war in Ukraine.

The diplomatic rift between the US and the Sino-Russian bloc is further widening as the Russian-Ukraine war is further exposing the West's ambitions of establishing a unipolar world. 

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the US and its allies have been adamant about pressuring the Global South to cut ties with Russia. 

Due to China's resistance, the US has imposed a partial embargo on Chinese-made semiconductors.

It is also undergoing territorial instability since US Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed on the Taiwanese island, unbothered by China's threats.

Both Russia and China have also received subtle threats from NATO due to their cooperation in the Arctic.

On September 12, it was reported that China and Russia had agreed to cooperate in investment projects worth $160 billion intended to fortify bilateral ties. 

It is worth noting that, as part of coordination between the two nations, China and Russia held their first joint exercises of this year in the Vostok-2022 military drills which began in early September.

A growing friendship between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin has helped put the two countries closer together. The ambitions to end what China and Russia regard as America's economic and geopolitical hegemony further strengthened the diplomatic ties. 

In August, it was reported that trade between China and Russia rose 29 percent, amounting to $97.91 billion in the first seven months of 2022.