Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang (right) receives his US counterpart Antony Blinken in Beijing on June 18.
Reuters reported on June 18 that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to reduce the risk of miscalculation, when he held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Beijing.
The two diplomats also agreed to meet again in Washington DC. As the first US secretary of state to visit China in five years, Blinken had "frank, substantive and constructive" talks with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang, according to a US State Department spokesperson.
Ahead of the talks, US officials said there was little chance of a breakthrough on the long list of disagreements between the world's two largest economies , from trade to other issues such as Taiwan.
"Secretary Blinken emphasized the importance of diplomacy and maintaining open channels of communication across the board to reduce the risk of misunderstanding and miscalculation," said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
“The Secretary raised a number of issues of concern, as well as opportunities to explore cooperation on transnational issues with China where we share common interests,” Miller said in the statement.
Secretary Blinken invited his Chinese counterpart to visit Washington DC "to continue discussions, and they agreed to schedule a reciprocal visit at a mutually convenient time," according to the statement.
The two foreign ministers met in Beijing earlier and shook hands in front of the flags of both countries. After entering the meeting room, neither diplomat commented as reporters were briefly allowed in. The meeting lasted five and a half hours before the two sides attended a working dinner.
Hua Chunying, China's assistant foreign minister, attended the meeting. She tweeted a picture of the two foreign ministers shaking hands, with the caption "hope the meeting can steer China-US relations back to what the two leaders agreed to in Bali (Indonesia)" in November 2022.
Chinese state television reported that Foreign Minister Qin said China was committed to building a "stable, predictable and constructive" relationship with the United States.
In addition, Mr. Qin also made clear China's concerns about core interests such as the Taiwan issue, describing it as the "most prominent risk" in the China-US relationship.
US diplomatic officials said both foreign ministers expressed their desire to stabilize relations between the two countries and guard against competition that could lead to conflict.
Mr Blinken has been "very clear" that the US does not want to separate from China and there has been an agreement for the two sides to continue negotiations to make progress on some fronts, according to US officials.
Mr. Blinken will stay in China for two days and is expected to meet with Wang Yi, Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and possibly President Xi Jinping.
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