U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken began meetings in Beijing on Sunday, the first top American diplomat to visit China in five years, amid frosty bilateral ties and dim prospects for any breakthrough on the long list of disputes between the world’s two largest economies.
Having postponed a February trip after a suspected Chinese spy balloon flew over U.S. airspace, Blinken is the highest-ranking U.S. government official to visit China since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang greeted Blinken and his group at the door to a villa in the grounds of Beijing's Diaoyutai State Guest House, rather than inside the building as is customary.
The two made small talk as they walked in, Qin asking Blinken in English about his long trip from Washington. They then shook hands in front of a Chinese and an American flag.
After heading into a meeting room, neither Blinken nor Qin made comments in front of reporters who were briefly allowed in.
Chinese assistant foreign minister Hua Chunying, who is attending the meeting, tweeted above a picture of Qin and Blinken shaking hands: "Hope this meeting can help steer China-U.S. relations back to what the two Presidents agreed upon in Bali".
During his stay through Monday, Blinken is also expected to meet with China's top diplomat Wang Yi and possibly President Xi Jinping.
U.S. officials have since last week played down the prospect of a major breakthrough during the trip, but said Blinken's primary goal was to establish open and durable communication channels to ensure strategic rivalry between the two countries does not spiral into conflict.
U.S. officials and analysts expect Blinken's visit will pave the way for more bilateral meetings between Washington and Beijing in coming months, including possible trips by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. It could also set the stage for meetings between Xi and Biden at multilateral summits later in the year.
Speaking with reporters on Sunday about the balloon incident in February, Biden said he did not think the Chinese leadership knew much about where the balloon was or what it did while adding that he hoped to meet Xi soon.
"I'm hoping that, over the next several months, I'll be meeting with Xi again and talking about legitimate differences we have but also how there's areas we can get along," Biden said.
Biden and Xi held their long-awaited first face-to-face talks on the sidelines of a summit of the Group of 20 big economies in November on the Indonesian island of Bali, engaging in blunt talks over Taiwan and North Korea but also pledging more frequent communication.
While that meeting briefly eased fear of a new Cold War, the flight of the Chinese balloon over the United States a few months later escalated tension, and high-level communication since then has been rare.
China state run media CGTN reports that while Blinken is in Beijing, the two sides will raise issues of bilateral concern, discuss global and regional matters, and the Chinese side will also expound on its position and concerns on China-U.S. relations and "resolutely safeguard its own interests," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Friday.
Hours before the two sides simultaneously confirmed the visit on Wednesday night, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang spoke with Blinken over the phone.
During their conversation, Qin expressed hope that the U.S. can work with China to effectively manage differences, and promote cooperation, so as to bring the China-U.S. relationship back to the track of sound and steady development.
Qin also reiterated China's position on the Taiwan question, urging the U.S. to stop interfering in China's internal affairs and stop undermining China's sovereignty, security and development interests in the name of competition, CGTN reports.
