On the first day of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing to ease tensions, Washington on Sunday hailed the talks. “building” And “Amen” He welcomed the agreement presented by the Chinese diplomatic chief for an upcoming visit to Washington. This two-day visit is the first by a US diplomat to the Chinese mainland in nearly five years. Mr. Blinken met his Chinese counterpart, Chen Gang, at a richly decorated state villa in Beijing’s ancient Diaoyutai Gardens where his Chinese hosts were hosting a banquet.
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While no one was expecting much progress, given many contentious issues — notably over trade and Taiwan — the idea was to start a diplomatic thaw and maintain dialogue. Responsibly managing China-US relationsaccording to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The two men were talking “Frank, substantial and constructive”State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said after the interview. He particularly highlighted Mr. Blinken The importance of diplomacy and maintaining open channels of communication on all issues to reduce the risk of misunderstanding and miscalculation.specially.
Anthony Blinken also called Mr. Chen and the two men agreed “Schedule such a visit at a time convenient for both of them.”TBD, State Department spokesman Matt Miller said.
The visit was canceled in February
For his part, the Chinese foreign minister reminded his American counterpart that relations between Beijing and Washington were “at the lowest point” Since the beginning of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, in 1979, according to statements reported by the state television channel CCTV.
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Among the sticking points, he said, Taiwan is the most sensitive.
“The Taiwan issue is the core issue of China’s supreme interests, the most important issue in Sino-US relations and the most important danger.” For those, Qin Gang said, again according to CCTV.
China considers Taiwan one of its provinces to be reunited, by force if necessary.
Global rearmament and escalation
The visit of the head of US diplomacy was initially scheduled for February, following the meeting last November between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia.
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But it was canceled at the last minute. In question: Flying over American territory by a Chinese balloon, which Washington accuses of being an airplane “spy”While Beijing confirmed that it was a meteorological vehicle that deviated from its course.
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During his Secretary of State’s visit to China, Joe Biden lowered his balloon ring. “I don’t think the commanders knew where it was, what it contained and what was going on.”The US president told reporters on Saturday. “I think it was more embarrassing than intended.”.
Joe Biden said he hopes to meet Xi Jinping again “Over the next few months.”. The two leaders are expected to attend the next G20 summit in September in New Delhi, and Xi was invited to San Francisco in November for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
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The hard line
Mr. Blinken’s visit is the first by a US secretary of state to China since the October 2018 trip of his predecessor, Mike Pompeo, who then masterminded confrontational strategy with Beijing in the final years of Donald Trump’s presidency.
sequel after announcement
Taiwan, docs in stock
Since then, the Biden administration has maintained this hard line, going further in some areas, including by imposing export controls to curb Beijing’s purchase and manufacture of high-quality chips. used in military applications.
But it wants to cooperate with China on crucial issues such as climate. Mr Blinken’s visit also comes as part of a heat wave in China, with a new record temperature set for mid-June Friday in Beijing, at 39.4 degrees Celsius.
For Danny Russell, a former senior US State Department official, each side has an interest in this visit: China hopes to sidestep new US restrictions on technology and any new support for Taiwan. The United States wants to prevent an incident that could lead to a military confrontation.
“Mr. Blinken’s brief visit will not resolve any of the major issues in US-China relations.”says Mr. Russell, now vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York.
“But his visit may revive much-needed face-to-face dialogue and send a signal that the two countries are moving from angry rhetoric in the media to more sober talks behind closed doors.”.
