The Secretary of State of the United States ends an official visit to China, in which he held meetings with senior officials of the Asian giant, including President Xi Jinping. Although Beijing remained firm in its positions, mainly regarding the reunification of Taiwan, the two sides agreed to keep communication channels open to avoid future conflicts. This is the first visit by a secretary of state to China in nearly five years.
In an attempt to improve the deteriorating bilateral relations, the Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, met this Monday, June 19, with the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, in Beijing.
This meeting was not part of the official agenda for the trip of the head of US diplomacy to China, but it was confirmed at the last minute by both parties.
“Interactions between states should always be based on mutual respect and sincerity,” said the Chinese president during the meeting, referring to the fragile diplomatic ties of the superpowers after years of political, territorial and commercial disagreements.
Xi Jinping also said that with Blinken’s visit to his country, he is “hopeful” that China-US relations can be stabilized.
Issues such as Washington’s support for the autonomous island of Taiwan, the rivalry in technological development, Beijing’s treatment of the Uyghur community and the alleged Chinese spy balloons in the United States are just some of the issues that have caused tension. bilateral relations in recent years.
Prior to the meeting with the president, Blinken met with his counterpart Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign chief, who described the moment in which relations between the two countries are going through as a “critical” moment.
“It is necessary to choose between dialogue and confrontation, cooperation or conflict and work together so that China and the United States get along,” Wang said, according to Chinese television ‘CCTV’.
Both parties agreed to keep the dialogue open to avoid escalations in the conflict and differences.
The Taiwan question
Taiwan was one of the thorniest issues of this meeting and although in a kind tone, Wang firmly expressed that regaining control of the autonomous island is part of one of Beijing’s fundamental interests.
“China has no room to compromise or give in,” Wang stressed, referring to Taiwan, a territory that Chinese communist power has regarded as rogue since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.
Taiwan has been a point of tension due to the constant military exercises ordered by the Chinese government in recent months.
A visit by the Chinese delegation to the United States is expected
Blinken was received a day earlier by the Chinese Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, in a meeting that lasted seven and a half hours, longer than expected.
As a product of that meeting, it was revealed that Qin agreed to visit Washington soon in a visit similar to the one Blinken made to China.
The talks were “frank, substantive and constructive,” said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
Meanwhile, Qin said bilateral relations are at their lowest point since diplomacy between Washington and Beijing was formally established in 1979.
“This is not in line with the fundamental interests of these two peoples and the common expectations of the international community,” Qin said in the dialogue with Blinken.
Last year, President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Joe Biden, had a brief talk in Indonesia and it is hoped that they could have a longer meeting in the future to reduce bilateral tensions.
With EFE and local media
Source: France 24
