BEIJING (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed Taiwan and other thorny issues with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, in Beijing on the final day of a rare visit aimed at preventing friction between the two rival powers from spiraling into conflict.
In the first visit by a US secretary of state to China in five years, Blinken spoke with Wang for about three hours in a meeting Monday at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, according to State Department officials.
Describing relations between the United States and China as having reached a low point, Wang said the root cause is the United States’ misperception of China.
“We must take a responsible attitude towards the people, history and the world, and reverse the downward spiral of US-China relations,” Wang said during the meeting with Blinken, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The day before, Blinken had met with Chinese Foreign Minister Chen Gang for over 7-1/2 hours. Washington described both sets of talks as “frank” and “constructive.”
All eyes will be on whether Blinken will also meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping later in the day, sources involved said it was expected but not yet confirmed by the State Department or Chinese officials.
Wang urged the United States to stop speculation about threats from China, stop “suppressing” China’s scientific and technological development, and refrain from interfering in its internal affairs, according to Chinese state media.
On the issue of Taiwan, the democratic island that Beijing claims to own, Wang said that “China has no room for compromise or concessions,” according to the Chinese statement.
The United States has long adhered to a policy of “strategic ambiguity” over whether to respond militarily to an attack on Taiwan, which Beijing has refused to rule out.
When asked last year, US President Joe Biden said Washington would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, though aides later said his comments did not reflect a departure from the longstanding “one China” policy.
US officials emphasized that the United States does not support Taiwan independence.
Talks between Blinken and Kane on Sunday appeared to make little concrete progress on wide-ranging differences, which included Taiwan, trade, human rights and stemming the flow of the synthetic opioid fentanyl and its chemical precursor from China, or in bringing differing viewpoints closer. Regarding the war in Ukraine.
In his conversations with Chen, Blinken stressed “the need to reduce the risks of misunderstanding and miscalculation.”
The two sides stressed the importance of facilitating the visit of their citizens, and agreed to work to increase passenger flights, which boosted the shares of Chinese airlines.
They also expressed their desire for stable bilateral relations despite what a US official called their “deep” differences, and agreed that Chen would visit Washington to continue the conversation, although no date was announced.
“This will be a sustainable diplomatic process,” a senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Sunday.
Blinken’s flight, which was postponed in February after a suspected Chinese spy balloon flew over US airspace, is being watched closely around the world as a further deterioration in relations between the world’s two largest economies could have global ramifications for financial markets and business practices. Trade routes and supply chains.
While in Beijing, Blinken was also expected to meet with American business people working in the healthcare, automotive, and entertainment industries to hear more about China’s business climate.
Taiwan ‘primary interest’
China’s readings of Sunday’s meetings described them as constructive, but made clear that Taiwan was the most important and potentially dangerous issue.
“Chen Gang pointed out that the Taiwan issue is the core of China’s core interests, the most important issue in Sino-US relations, and the most prominent risk,” Chinese state media quoted Chen as telling the top US diplomat.
“For this high-level interaction between China and the United States, Taiwan is closely aware of the relevant details,” Taiwan Premier Chen Xinjin told reporters in central Taiwan.
Of particular concern to China’s neighbors is Beijing’s reluctance to engage in regular military talks with Washington.
US officials have played down the possibility of a major breakthrough in the talks, but they and analysts expect Blinken’s visit to pave the way for more bilateral meetings in the coming months, including possible trips by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
It could also pave the way for talks between Xi and Biden at multilateral summits later in the year.
Biden and Xi held their long-awaited first face-to-face talks on the sidelines of the Group of 20 major economies summit in November on the Indonesian island of Bali, engaging in acrimonious talks on Taiwan and North Korea, but also pledging more frequent talks. communication, though relations have deteriorated since then.
Coverage by Humeyra Pamuk in Beijing. Additional reporting by Jason Zhieu in Shanghai, Sophie Yu, Yu Lun Tian, Dominic Button and Joe Cash in Beijing, Jenny Kao and Ben Blanchard in Taipei, Writing by Hamira Pamuk and Arshad Muhammad; Editing by Simon Cameron Moore
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