Rhino: Agencies – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a lengthy conversation with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Saturday that covered a number of issues such as Taiwan, the Beijing Declaration recently signed by Palestinian factions and Russia’s support in the war in Ukraine, a senior State Department official said.

The official said the two ministers discussed the recent Beijing-brokered agreement between Palestinian factions, which has raised doubts about its effectiveness in ending the intense rivalry between Fatah, the backbone of the Palestinian Authority, and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

‘We have seen a number of supposedly reconciliations before that have not come to fruition,’ the official said.

During the meeting, Blinken also expressed Washington’s concern over Beijing’s recent ‘provocative’ actions, the official said. Among them was a simulated blockade during the inauguration of Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-teh.

‘In every discussion, Taiwan is the issue they pay the most attention to. ‘They see it as China’s internal affair, so Wang Yi has little to say about Taiwan, just as they always have little to say publicly.