China: China and the United States have reached an agreement to work towards stabilising their relations and avoiding potential conflicts following US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s two-day visit to Beijing.
A roughly 30-minute meeting with Chinese President Mr. Xi Jinping was Mr. Blinken’s final engagement on the closely watched trip, which included talks with China’s top diplomat Mr. Wang Yi and Foreign Minister Mr. Qin Gang.
There are hopes that the two days of discussions could pave the way for a meeting between US President Mr. Joe Biden and Chinese counterpart later this year. The two leaders last met in November at the G20 summit in Bali, where they vowed to communicate more frequently. However, since then, their relationship has deteriorated due to various issues, including concerns regarding Taiwan, a self-ruled island, and espionage.
“The Chinese side has made our position clear, and the two sides have agreed to follow through on the common understandings President Biden and I had reached in Bali,” Mr. Xi told the US secretary of state in Beijing, adding that the “two sides have also made progress and reached agreement on some specific issues”.
Mr. Blinken noted that “the two countries have an obligation and responsibility to manage their relationship, and the US is committed to doing that. I heard the same from my Chinese counterparts. We both agree on the need to stabilise our relationship.”
The US diplomat further remarked that he agreed with China’s leadership on the need to “stabilise” relations but that he was “clear-eyed about the challenges” posed by China.
“We have no illusions about the challenges of managing this relationship. There are many issues on which we profoundly, even vehemently, disagree,” Mr. Blinken added.
In recent years, relations between Beijing and Washington have deteriorated due to a range of issues. These include trade disputes, concerns over Taiwan, China’s expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea, and the United States’ efforts to counter China’s increasing influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Additionally, the US has cautioned China against providing support to Russia in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
