2023-06-20 14:43:00
In a long-awaited sign of appeasement, the Chinese head of state received his guest at the People’s Palace, the monumental building which is used to welcome foreign dignitaries on the edge of Tiananmen Square.
“The two sides have made progress and reached common ground on some specific points,” said Xi Jinping without specifying the latter, describing the progress as “very good thing”, according to public television CCTV.
“We are on the right track,” Joe Biden said during a trip to California, saying Mr. Blinken had “done a great job” in Beijing.
Antony Blinken met Xi Jinping on the second and last day of his visit to China. It was the first stay in the Asian country in nearly five years for a head of American diplomacy.
Both sides, however, played down the prospects of any major reconciliation. According to the American Secretary of State, who said he was “lucid”, the more than 11 hours of discussions he conducted in two days were aimed above all at restoring dialogue.
“We have made progress and we are moving forward,” Antony Blinken told the press, before qualifying: “None of these questions will be resolved in a single visit”.
Progress still limited
Another encouraging sign: Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang has accepted an invitation to visit the United States, on a date yet to be determined.
But Antony Blinken acknowledged that progress was limited for the time being, in particular on the restoration of communication between the two armies, a priority against the backdrop of persistent bilateral tensions around Taiwan.
“Direct contact and sustained communication at the highest level is the best way to manage differences responsibly and ensure that competition does not escalate into conflict,” Blinken told reporters.
“I heard the same thing from my Chinese counterparts. We agree on the need to stabilize our relations.”
Bilateral relations remain tense on many issues: rivalry in technology, trade, the treatment of the Muslim minority of the Uyghurs in China or Chinese claims in the South China Sea.
On Monday morning, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) top diplomat, Wang Yi, told Antony Blinken that the United States must now choose “between dialogue and confrontation, cooperation and conflict”, according to CCTV.
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