Senior Chinese and U.S. officials Wang Yi and Jake Sullivan held "multiple rounds of meetings" in Malta on Saturday and Sunday, where Wang stressed that the Taiwan question remains the No.1 red line that must not be crossed in the China-U.S. relationship, an official statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

Wang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, urged the U.S. to abide by the three China-U.S. joint communiques and honor its commitment not to support "Taiwan independence."

In a readout released by the White House, Washington said the two's meetings were "candid, substantive and constructive" as part of the effort to "maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage the relationship."

The talks came as Beijing and Washington have been taking steps to reconnect after multiple lines of communication were cut last August due to then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. 

The two sides agreed to continue to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state during their meeting in Bali, maintain high-level exchanges and hold consultations between the two countries on Asia-Pacific affairs, maritime affairs and foreign policies, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. 

The two diplomats also discussed measures to further support and facilitate personnel exchanges between the two countries.

The two sides also discussed the situation in the Asia-Pacific region, Ukraine, the Korean Peninsula and other international and regional issues.

(Cover: Wang Yi (R), a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, during talks with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Malta, from September 16 to 17, 2023. /Chinese Foreign Ministry)