Antony Blinken scores meeting with Xi Jinping as U.S., China look to ease tensions | CBC News

China and the United States agreed on Monday to try and stabilize their intense rivalry to avoid veering into conflict, but did not announce any major breakthroughs during a rare visit to Beijing by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed “progress” after shaking hands with Blinken at the Great Hall of the People, a grand venue usually reserved for greeting heads of state.

Blinken, the first American secretary of state to meet the Chinese leader since 2018, told reporters he had raised contentious issues such as Taiwan, the democratic island Beijing claims as its own.

While Blinken said the two sides had not moved forward on establishing regular military-to-military communications — a major concern for the wider world — he expected more senior U.S. officials would visit China in coming weeks.

“It is absolutely vital that we have these kinds of communications,” he said. “This is something we’re going to keep working on.”

The U.S. has said that, since 2021, China has declined or failed to respond to over a dozen requests from the Department of Defence for top-level dialogues.

It had been hoped their roughly 30-minute meeting could help facilitate a summit between Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden later in the year.

Biden and Xi last met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November, pledging more frequent communication, although ties since then have deteriorated over Taiwan, espionage accusations and other concerns.

“The two sides have also made progress and reached the agreement on some specific issues. This is very good,” Xi told Blinken across a long table bedecked with pink lotus flowers.

It was not immediately clear from Xi’s remarks what progress he was referring to, although he told Blinken China “hopes to see a sound and steady China-U.S. relationship” and believes that the two countries “can overcome various difficulties,” according to Chinese readout of the talks.

‘No room for compromise’ on Taiwan: Beijing

In his remarks to Xi during the 35-minute session, which was not announced until an hour before it started, Blinken said “the United States and China have an obligation and responsibility to manage our relationship.”

The lack of regular and open communication channels between the world’s top two economies has sent jitters around the world, and Beijing’s reluctance to engage in regular military-to-military talks with Washington has alarmed China’s neighbours.

Earlier on Monday, Blinken underscored the importance of open communication channels to manage their competition during more than three hours of talks with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi.

Describing the U.S.-China relationship as being at a low point, Wang said the root cause was the United States’s wrong perception of China.

“We must take a responsible attitude toward the people, history and the world, and reverse the downward spiral of U.S.-China relations,” Wang said during the meeting with Blinken, according to a statement released by China’s Foreign Ministry.

Blinken’s trip, which was postponed in February after a suspected Chinese spy balloon flew over U.S. airspace, was closely followed worldwide as further deterioration of ties could have global implications on financial markets, trade practices and routes, and supply chains.

Beijing’s tone on Taiwan was particularly pointed throughout Blinken’s visit. Wang said “China has no room for compromise or concessions,” according to the Chinese readout.

The United States has long stuck to a policy of “strategic ambiguity” over whether it would respond militarily to an attack on Taiwan, which Beijing has refused to rule out.

When asked last year, Biden said Washington would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, though aides later said his comments did not reflect a policy departure from the long-standing “one China” policy.

U.S. officials have underscored that the United States does not support Taiwan independence.   

In his meetings on Sunday, Blinken also pressed the Chinese to release detained American citizens and to take steps to curb the production and export of fentanyl precursors that are fuelling the opioid crisis in the United States.