Blinken to hold rare talks with China FM on Bali trip

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold a rare meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of a regional conference in Bali this week, the State Department said. Wang and Blinken, who last met in October, will meet on the sidelines of a Group of 20 ministerial meeting on the Indonesian resort island, the State Department said, amid high tensions on a range of issues including Taiwan. The meeting comes as US President Joe Biden voices hope for a new conversation in the coming weeks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has not travelled internationally since the Covid-19 pandemic. The State Department said that Blinken will also hold talks with his Indonesian counterpart, among others, and then travel on Saturday to US ally Thailand for a visit that was cancelled last year after an outbreak of Covid in the top US diplomat's delegation. - AFP