U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) walks with China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang (R) before a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing June 18, 2023.
Leah Millis | Afp | Getty Images
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Beijing on Sunday for a high-level diplomatic mission to ease US-China tensions that have overshadowed geopolitics in recent months.
Blinken’s trip makes him the highest-ranking American official to visit China since Joe Biden became US President and the first US Secretary of State to make the trip in nearly five years.
Blinken has had “frank, substantive, and constructive discussions” with Qin, a US State Department spokesman said in a statement Sunday. He expressed concerns and “opportunities to explore collaboration” and stressed the importance of open communication, the statement said.
“The Secretary made it clear that the United States will always stand up for the interests and values of the American people and will work with our allies and partners to advance our vision of a world that is free and open and upholds the international rules-based order.” , said the spokesman.
Blinken invited Qin to the US to continue talks, and the spokesman said the pair agreed to schedule a visit at a “mutually convenient time.” Blinken will continue to meet with Chinese officials in Beijing on Monday.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) and China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang shake hands before a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing June 18, 2023.
Leah Millis | AFP | Getty Images
His original travel plans for February were thwarted by news of an alleged Chinese spy balloon flying over US airspace. The US eventually launched the alleged spy balloon, and tensions between the world’s two largest economies have been tense ever since. Beijing insisted the balloon was an unnamed weather tracker that had gone off course.
Blinken was scheduled to join Qin, who was previously China’s ambassador to the United States, for a working lunch later Sunday at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. Some reports suggest there could also be a meeting with President Xi Jinping on Monday during Blinken’s two-day visit.
Expectations for a significant recovery in US-China relations, particularly due to Blinken’s trip, remain low. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement last week that Blinken will discuss the importance of maintaining open lines of communication and will “address bilateral issues of concern, global and regional issues, and possible collaboration on common transnational challenges.”
At the annual Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore earlier this month, the US defense chief and his Chinese counterpart did not have a formal meeting. And more broadly, international travel restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic limited contact between the US and Chinese governments.
In August, a controversial visit to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the US House of Representatives, fueled Beijing’s ire. Beijing regards Taiwan as part of its territory and has no right to conduct diplomatic relations alone. The US recognizes Beijing as China’s sole legitimate government while maintaining unofficial ties with the island, a democratically self-governing region.
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Biden’s visit to Beijing could also potentially pave the way for a meeting between Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi in November — the first since Bali in November, a day before the start of a G-20 summit.
At the end of May, the US Secretary of Commerce and her Chinese counterpart met in Washington. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is also expected to visit China at an unspecified date.
China’s new ambassador to the US, Xie Feng, arrived in the US at the end of May after about six months without anyone in the position. Around the same time, Biden said he expected tensions between the US and China to “reduce very soon.”
A potential opportunity for Biden and Xi to meet again would be in November during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Summit to be held in San Francisco.