U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing June 18, 2023. LEAH MILLIS/AFP
The visit planned for March was canceled for the first time due to diplomatic and trade tensions between Beijing and Washington. On the first day of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing to ease ties, Washington on Sunday, June 18, hailed “constructive” and “honest” talks and welcomed the agreement by the chief of Chinese diplomacy for an upcoming visit to Washington .
Although no one expected much progress since there is so much friction between the two powers, particularly on trade and the Taiwan issue, the idea was to initiate a diplomatic thaw and maintain dialogue to “govern China responsibly.” -US relationship,” according to the State Department.
The two-day visit marks the first trip to Chinese soil by an American diplomat in nearly five years.
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“Keep communication channels open”
Mr Blinken met his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang at an ornate state villa in Beijing’s ancient Diaoyutai Gardens, where his Chinese hosts were then scheduled to hold a banquet.
The two men had “open, factual and constructive” discussions, said Matthew Miller, spokesman for the State Department, after the meeting. Mr Blinken said “the importance of diplomacy and maintaining open channels of communication on all issues to reduce the risk of misperceptions and misperceptions”.
Antony Blinken also invited Mr. Qin, and the two men agreed to “arrange such a visit at a mutually convenient time,” to be determined later, Mr. Miller said.
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The Chinese foreign minister reminded his American counterpart that relations between Beijing and Washington are “at the lowest point” since diplomatic relations between the two countries began in 1979, according to comments by state broadcaster CCTV.
According to Beijing, Taiwan is “the most important” topic of tension
“The Taiwan issue is the fundamental issue of China’s overarching interests, the most important issue in China-US relations and the greatest danger to them,” Qin Gang said, according to CCTV. China regards Taiwan as one of its provinces, which it must reunite by force if necessary.
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The visit by the head of American diplomacy was originally scheduled for February, following the meeting between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping last November on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Indonesia.
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It had been canceled at the last minute. In question: the overflight of a Chinese balloon over American territory, which Washington described as a “spy plane,” while Beijing assured that it was a meteorological machine that had lost its trajectory.
During his Secretary of State’s visit to China, Joe Biden downplayed the balloon episode. “I don’t think the leaders knew where it was, what was inside and what was going on,” the US president told reporters on Saturday, adding, “I think it was more embarrassing than intended.”
The US President said he hopes to meet with Xi Jinping again “in the coming months”. The two leaders are expected to attend the upcoming G20 summit in New Delhi in September, and Xi has been invited to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in San Francisco in November.
confrontation strategy
The last visit by an American Secretary of State to China dates from October 2018: It was Mike Pompeo, who was the mastermind behind the confrontation strategy with Beijing in the final years of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Since then, the Biden administration has stuck to that hard line and gone even further in some areas, such as imposing export controls to limit Beijing’s purchase and manufacture of high-end chips “for military applications.”
However, it wants to work with China on crucial issues such as the climate. Mr Blinken’s visit also comes at a time when part of China is experiencing a heatwave – on Friday Beijing recorded an unprecedented 39.4C for mid-June.
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