The United States and China have pledged to stabilize their diplomatic relations, US chief of diplomacy Antony Blinken said after a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
“At all meetings, I insisted that direct contact and sustained communication at the highest level was the best way to deal responsibly with differences and ensure that competition does not become conflict,” explained Blinken, speaking to journalists at the end of the meeting with the Chinese leader.
“I heard the same thing from my Chinese counterparts. We agree on the need to stabilize relations,” the US secretary of state added on the second and final day of an official visit to Beijing.
The Chinese president reiterated that Blinken’s visit to Beijing enabled progress in relations between the two countries, virtually closing diplomatic channels in recent months, after Washington last February ordered the shooting down of an alleged Chinese spy balloon flying over American territory flew.
“The two sides have made progress and agreed on some specific issues. And that’s very good,” Xi acknowledged.according to a transcript of the comments released by the US State Department.
“I hope that through this visit I will make a more positive contribution to stabilizing relations between China and the United States,” Xi added.
During the 35-minute meeting, Blinken replied to Xi that “the United States and China have an obligation and responsibility to properly manage their relationship,” emphasizing that it is in the interests of both sides.
On Saturday, Blinken had left the exact same message to his Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang, following a meeting that lasted about five and a half hours during which the two countries committed to keep communication channels open.
On Monday, the head of US diplomacy met with the chief diplomat of the Chinese Communist Party, Wang Yi, in a three-hour meeting.
Following this meeting, China’s foreign ministry issued a statement saying that Blinken’s visit to Beijing is a good illustration of the response to “the need to make a choice between dialogue and confrontation”.
Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing follows a conversation last November between United States President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Indonesia.
In recent days, President Xi has shown a willingness to ease tensions with the United States – speaking with US technology company co-founder Bill Gates on Friday the 16th – and assured that the US and China can and should cooperate “for the benefit of both countries”.
“I believe that the basis of Sino-US relations is people. (…) In the current world situation, we can carry out various initiatives that will benefit our two countries and all of humanity,” Xi told Gates.
Source: DN
