Xi tells Blinken in high-stakes meeting: World needs stable U.S.-China relations
U.S. Secretary Antony Blinken ended a high-stakes trip to Beijing on Monday with an unexpected encounter with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
After a period when tensions had been simmering, the latter stressed the need for stable relations between the two countries.
According to a translation of a readout by the Chinese foreign ministry, during the 35-minute meeting at Diaoyutai State Guest House, Xi stated that the world needs a “generally stabil” China-U.S. relation.
Xi said that the fate of humanity and the future of the world depended on whether the two nations “can find a way to get along.”
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In a video broadcast by CCTV, the Chinese leader expressed his hope that the visit would help to stabilize China-U.S. ties. The remarks came after “honest and in-depth” discussions between the two officials, which led to progress and an agreement on “specific issues”.
Blinken stated that both sides agree on the importance of stabilizing bilateral relations between the U.S. Blinken said that the U.S. advocated “de-risking” and “diversifying” economic engagements with China. This approach was recently adopted by G7.
Blinken, who had initially not confirmed a meeting between Xi and himself on the itinerary, is now the highest-ranking American official to have visited China since U.S. president Joe Biden took over the presidency. He’s also the first U.S. Secretary of State to travel to China in almost five years.
The news that an alleged Chinese spy ball was flying over U.S. Airspace in February disrupted his original travel plans. This incident stoked tensions among the two world’s largest economies.
The visit could pave a way for a meeting in November between Biden, and Xi. After the two world leaders met last in person at the G20 Summit in Bali in late last year.
Open channels of communication
Blinken’s meeting with Xi echoed Blinken’s previous meetings with Chinese officials, which were characterized by an optimistic tone and a focus on communication.
He held “candid, substantive and constructive” talks with Chinese Foreign Ministry Qin Gang on Sunday before meeting with Wang Yi, the top Chinese diplomat, on Monday.
Blinken, upon seeing Wang “understood the importance of managing competition responsibly between the United States of America and the PRC by open channels of communications to ensure that competition does not degenerate into conflict”, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated in a press release.
In a Google-translated statement, Wang stressed the Blinken’s visit occurred at a crucial time in Sino-U.S. Relations. He stated that the U.S. “erroneous view of China” is the root cause of the problems in relations between the two countries.
Wang urged Washington, in addition, to abandon its “China Threat Theory,” lift sanctions against Beijing, and no longer suppress China’s technological development.
The State Department didn’t immediately respond to a comment request on Wang’s characterization of U.S. China difficulties.
Get down to business
In recent months, several business leaders, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and SpaceX CEO Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, and Apple CEO Tim Cook, have visited China.
China’s Xi met with Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, last week. He expressed his hope that the friendship between China and the U.S. will continue.
“I say often that the foundation for China-U.S. relationships lies in people. “We always put our hope in the American people, and we hope that friendship between two peoples continues,” Xi told CCTV on Friday.
Xi told Gates that he was the “first American” he had met in Beijing.
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