BEIJING, July 26, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - China's top diplomat Wang Yi will meet
with US counterpart Antony Blinken on the sidelines of Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) talks in Laos, Beijing's foreign ministry
said Friday.

"Foreign Minister Wang Yi will meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
in Laos," said foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning.

The two top diplomats would "exchange views on issues of common concern", Mao
said.

She did not say when the meeting would take place, but said Beijing "will
release information in a timely manner regarding the specific time of the
meeting and the circumstances of the meeting".

"You can stay tuned," Mao added.

Wang on Thursday met with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines
of the ASEAN talks in Laos, which kicked off with the South China Sea and the
conflict in Myanmar high on the agenda.

The meeting came a day after Wang held talks in China with Ukraine's top
diplomat Dmytro Kuleba.

China is a close political and economic ally of Russia, and NATO members have
branded Beijing a "decisive enabler" of Moscow's war in Ukraine.

Blinken said last week he was planning to meet with Wang in Laos.

"I speak to him on a fairly regular basis, and I'll be seeing him next week,
in fact, in Laos," Blinken said during a security forum in the US state of
Colorado.

Despite disagreements in several key areas, relations between the United
States and China have stabilized since a summit between US President Joe
Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in November 2023.

But the two countries remain at loggerheads over everything from trade to
human rights and the status of the self-ruled island of Taiwan.