Secretary of State Antony Blinken's trip to China had an unexpected climax. Although the program of the trip included meetings between Blinken and several officials of the Chinese executive -including the head of international policy of the Asian giant, Wang Yi and the foreign minister, Qin Gang- he finally managed to meet for more than 30 minutes with President Xi Jinping.
Continuing important face to face diplomacy in Beijing, I met today with Central Foreign Affairs Office Director Wang Yi for discussions on a range of bilateral and global issues that affect people at home and around the world. pic.twitter.com/yXYcfU0Go1
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) June 19, 2023
A "positive" meeting, according to Xi
The meeting was announced by the U.S. delegation barely an hour before it was to take place. The conversation, which both sides described as fruitful, served to address several issues and lay the groundwork for beginning the "thaw" announced by President Joe Biden. "The two sides have also made progress and reached agreement on some specific issues. This is very good."
The Chinese Communist Party leader insisted that in general, the two sides "have had candid (inaudible) discussions. The Chinese side has made our decision clear, and the two sides have agreed to follow through the common understandings President Biden and I had reached in Bali."
"Mutual respect and sincerity"
Before meeting behind closed doors with the secretary of state, Xi added that "It’s safe to say that interactions should always be based on mutual respect and sincerity. I hope that through this visit, Mr. Secretary, you will make more positive contributions to stabilizing China-U.S. relations."
After thanking the Chinese President for receiving him, Blinken said, "President Biden asked me to travel to Beijing because he believes that the United States and China have an obligation and responsibility to manage our relationship. The United States is committed to doing that. It’s in the interest of the United States, in the interests of China, and in the interest of the world."
"Responsibly managing competition"
The head of U.S. diplomacy reviewed his talks with those responsible for China's international relations, which he described as "candid and constructive." "Over the past few days I have had candid and constructive conversations with State Councilor Qin Gang and Director Wang Yi. We covered a broad range of both bilateral and global issues. I appreciate this opportunity to discuss the way forward with you" he said.
Prior to the meeting with Xi, Blinken had met with Wang, with whom he had a "candid and productive discussion," according to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. At the meeting, Blinken outlined to Wang "the importance of responsibly managing competition between the United States and China through open channels of communication to ensure that competition does not drift into conflict."
Wang calls on US to stop "hyping up the China threat theory"
For his part, Wang stressed that the US should "reflect deeply" and work with China to avoid "strategic surprises," according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. "We must reverse the downward spiral of Sino-U.S. relations, push for a return to a healthy and stable path, and work together to find a correct way for China and the United States to get along in the new era," Wang said.
China's top foreign policy official stressed that both countries must "choose between dialogue or confrontation, cooperation or conflict". He also called on Washington to lift sanctions against China and stop "hyping up" the "China threat theory."
