Antony Blinken, who arrived in Beijing on Sunday, is the highest-ranking member of President Joe Biden’s administration to visit China (Photo: Reuters)
Metropolis Desk-
The first of two days of meetings with Chinese officials was kicked off in Beijing by “candid” and “constructive” discussions between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China’s Foreign Minister, according to the US State Department. According to US authorities, Mr. Blinken emphasized the importance of maintaining “open channels of communication” and diplomacy.
A suspected Chinese surveillance balloon flying in US airspace forced the postponement of an earlier Blinken visit, making this the first travel to China by a US diplomat in nearly five years. According to US officials, the major objective of the negotiations is to stabilize a relationship that has grown quite strained.
State media reported that Qin Gang, the foreign minister of China, told Mr. Blinken that Beijing was dedicated to establishing a reliable, predictable, and productive partnership with the US. He agreed during the talks, according to US sources, to pay a visit to Washington.
According to official media, Mr. Qin called the Taiwan issue one of “China’s core interests” and said it represented the “most prominent risk” to China-US relations.
Taiwan regards itself as independent from the Chinese mainland with its constitution and authorities, whereas China sees self-governing Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually come under Beijing’s sovereignty. In a statement that was denounced by Beijing, US President Joe Biden stated last year that in the case of a Chinese invasion, the US would support Taiwan.
On Sunday morning, Mr. Qin welcomed Mr. Blinken to the luxurious Diaoyutai State Guest House, which frequently welcomes distinguished guests.
Before their respective flags, the two shook hands before settling down at long tables with their delegations to start their meetings.
The formal welcome highlighted the tense relations that have recently grown between the two superpowers.
Both parties have made it plain they do not anticipate any significant breakthroughs, and the US had been decreasing expectations for the trip. The themes that the Americans expected to be discussed were the conflict in Ukraine, trade conflicts over cutting-edge computer technologies, the fentanyl opioid epidemic in the US, and Chinese human rights practices.
Chinese officials have shown restraint in their response to Mr. Blinken’s visit, raising doubts about the US’ sincerity in its attempts to heal fences.
He may or may not meet Xi Jinping, the president of China.
The highest-ranking US government representative to visit China since President Joe Biden’s inauguration in January 2021 is Mr. Blinken.
“If we want to make sure, as we do, that the competition that we have with China doesn’t veer into conflict, the place you start is with communicating,” Mr. Blinken told reporters on Friday.
Later he said he hoped to meet President Xi in the next few months.
A meeting between President Biden and Xi Jinping in Bali in November briefly eased fears of a new Cold War, but since the balloon incident high-level communication between the two leaders has been rare.
Source – BBC
