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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met on Monday with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in Beijing in the first trip of an official of his rank in five years, reported AFP. The high-stakes diplomatic visit is aimed at improving the strained US-China relations that have witnessed a serious decline in the last few months. AFP stated that the two leaders met at Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, briefly exchanging pleasantries before heading into a closed-door meeting. Blinken is on a two-day visit to China which began on June 18. He started his trip with a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang on Sunday. Wang Yi is the director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.
The two countries though have increasingly voiced an interest in seeking greater stability and see a narrow window before elections next year both in the United States and Taiwan, the self-ruling democracy which Beijing has not ruled out by seizing by force.
Blinken was scheduled to visit China four months ago, as a fruit of a cordial summit between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping in Bali in November. But the trip was abruptly postponed after the US said it detected Chinese spy balloons over its skies leading to furious calls for a response by hardliners in Washington.
Blinken said he would seek to “responsibly manage our relationship” by finding ways to avoid “miscalculations” between the countries, as he said in Washington before his departure, reported AFP.
“Intense competition requires sustained diplomacy to ensure that competition does not veer into confrontation or conflict,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that the US needed to “respect China’s core concerns” and work together with Beijing, ahead of Blinken’s visit.
“The US needs to give up the illusion of dealing with China ‘from a position of strength’. China and the US must develop relations on the basis of mutual respect and equality, respecting their difference in history, culture, social system, and development path,” he said, a nod to frequent US criticism of China’s rights record.
Blinken may also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, Reuters reported.
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