The US State Department said in a statement on Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed the importance of maintaining open lines of communication and managing the US-China relationship responsibly.

In a call on Sunday with Wang, Blinken discussed Russia's war against Ukraine and the threats it poses to global security and economic stability, the State Department said.

Market reaction

Despite resurfacing covid lockdown worries and disappointing manufacturing and services data from China, AUD/USD is holding near-daily highs of 0.6425, partly benefiting from the US-China headlines while a pullback in the US dollar across the board also helps the aussie. The spot is up 0.19% on the day.