U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the importance of keeping open lines of communication to reduce the risk of miscalculation in talks with China’s foreign minister on Sunday, and the two agreed to meet again in Washington, D.C.
As the first U.S. secretary of state to visit China in five years, Blinken held “candid, substantive and constructive talks” with People’s Republic of China (PRC) State Councillor and Foreign Affairs Minister Qin Gang, a State Department spokesperson said.
Before the talks, U.S. officials saw little chance of any breakthrough on the long list of disputes between the world’s two largest economies — which range from trade and U.S. efforts to hold back China’s semiconductor industry, to the status of self-governed Taiwan and Beijing’s human rights record.
“The secretary emphasized the importance of diplomacy and maintaining open channels of communication across the full range of issues to reduce the risk of misperception and miscalculation,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
“The secretary raised a number of issues of concern, as well as opportunities to explore co-operation on shared transnational issues with the PRC where our interests align,” he added in a statement.
Miller said Blinken invited Qin to visit Washington “to continue the discussions, and they agreed to schedule a reciprocal visit at a mutually suitable time.”
U.S.-China relations are at a new low as China’s foreign minister delivered a warning to Washington to change course on its policies toward Beijing or risk conflict after a spate of hot-button issues flared up.
Blinken, who postponed a February trip to China after a suspected Chinese spy balloon flew over U.S. airspace, is the highest-ranking U.S. government official to visit since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021.
Qin greeted Blinken and his group at the door to a villa on the grounds of Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, rather than inside the building as is customary.
The two made small talk as they walked in, Qin asking Blinken in English about his long trip from Washington. They then shook hands in front of a Chinese and an American flag.
After heading into a meeting room, neither Blinken nor Qin made comments in front of reporters who were briefly allowed in. Their meeting lasted 5½ hours, a State Department spokesperson said, before they moved to a working dinner.
But state media reported that Qin told his U.S. counterpart that China is committed to building a “stable, predictable and constructive” relationship with the United States. Qin also made clear China’s concerns on its core interests, including the Taiwan issue, describing it as the “most prominent risk” in Sino-U.S. relations, the report said.
Chinese assistant foreign minister Hua Chunying, who also attended the meeting, posted a picture on Twitter of Qin and Blinken shaking hands: “Hope this meeting can help steer China-U.S. relations back to what the two Presidents agreed upon in Bali.”
Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held long-awaited first face-to-face talks on the sidelines of a summit of the Group of 20 big economies in November on the Indonesian island of Bali, engaging in blunt talks over Taiwan and North Korea but also pledging more frequent communication.
During his stay through Monday, Blinken is also expected to meet with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, and possibly Xi.
Since last week, U.S. officials have played down the prospect of a major breakthrough during the trip but said Blinken’s primary goal was to establish open and durable communication channels to ensure strategic rivalry between the two countries does not spiral into conflict.
U.S. officials and analysts expect Blinken’s visit will pave the way for more bilateral meetings between Washington and Beijing in coming months, including possible trips by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. It could also set the stage for meetings between Xi and Biden at multilateral summits later in the year.
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