2023-06-18 17:56:59
Diplomacy
Washington welcomes “constructive” talks from Blinken to Beijing
For his part, the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs recalled that relations between China and the United States had been “at the lowest point” since 1979.
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Antony Blinken also invited Qin Gang to the United States.
On the first day of the Visit of Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Beijing to ease tensions, Washington on Sunday hailed “constructive” and “honest” discussions and welcomed the agreement given by the head of Chinese diplomacy to an upcoming visit to Washington.
“Frank and substantial”
This two-day visit is the first trip by an American diplomat to Chinese soil in nearly five years. Antony Blinken met his Chinese counterpart Qin Gangin a richly decorated state villa located in the old Diaoyutai gardens in Beijing where his Chinese hosts were then to organize a banquet.
If no one expected major advances as there are so many areas of friction – in particular on trade and Taiwan – the idea was to initiate a diplomatic thaw and maintain a dialogue to “responsibly manage the Sino-American relationship”, according to the State Department. The two men had “frank, substantive, and constructive” talks, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said after the meeting. Antony Blinken notably underlined “the importance of diplomacy and maintaining open channels of communication on all issues in order to reduce the risk of misperception and miscalculation”, he specified.
“At the lowest point”
Antony Blinken also invited Qin Gang and the two men agreed to “schedule such a visit at a mutually convenient date,” to be determined later, State Department spokesman Matt Miller said. .
For his part, the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs 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 remarks reported by the state television CCTV. And among the sticking points, he said Taiwan was the most sensitive. “The issue of Taiwan is the fundamental issue of China’s overriding interests, the most important issue in China-US relations and the greatest peril” for them, Qin Gang said. according to CCTV. China considers Taiwan as one of its provinces which it must reunify, by force if necessary.
Meeting canceled
The visit of the head of the American diplomacy was initially planned for February, in the wake of the meeting, last November, between the American president Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Indonesia. But it was canceled at the last minute. In question: the overflight of American territory by a Chinese balloon, accused by Washington of being a “spy” aircraft, while Beijing assured that it was a meteorological machine having deviated from its trajectory.
Video archive: Pentagon tracks Chinese spy balloon
During the visit of his Secretary of State to China, Joe Biden minimized the balloon episode. “I don’t think the leaders knew where it was, what it contained and what was going on,” Trump told reporters on Saturday. “I think it was more embarrassing than intentional.” Joe Biden said he hoped to meet Xi Jinping again “in the coming months”. The two leaders are expected to attend the next G20 summit in September in New Delhi and Xi Jinping has been invited to come to San Francisco in November for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
(AFP)
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