Chinese Foreign Minister to visit US soon

US officials said on October 23 that Mr. Wang Yi will visit Washington DC from October 26 to 28, meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as well as Mr. Jake Sullivan, national security adviser to US President Joe Biden. But they declined to disclose whether Mr. Wang, who is also director of the office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, will meet with Mr. Biden, according to Reuters.

This will be the highest-level contact between the two countries before a potential meeting between Mr. Biden and ChinesePresident Xi Jinping in San Francisco (USA) in November during the APEC summit. This is also a long-awaited return visit, after a number of top US officials, including Mr. Blinken, visited Beijing this summer.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi

Washington's top priority is to ensure that the fierce competition between the world's two largest economies and their disagreements over a range of issues from trade to Taiwan and the South China Sea do not spill over into conflict.

"We continue to believe that direct diplomacy is the best way to raise challenging issues, address misunderstandings and misinformation, and seek to cooperate with China where our interests overlap," a US official told reporters, Reuters reported.

Asked whether Mr. Wang’s visit was an opportunity to formalize Mr. Xi’s visit to the United States, another US official said Mr. Biden “has repeatedly stated that he hopes to meet with President Xi in the near future” and declined to comment further.

The visit also comes as the Hamas-Israel conflict dominates global headlines, while the Russia-Ukraine war continues.

Washington has provided military aid to Israel and Ukraine, while Beijing has grown closer to Russia since fighting broke out in Ukraine early last year and called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

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A US official said both conflicts would be discussed, revealing that the US would “push China to pursue a more constructive approach to both issues”.

Washington has emphasized China’s ability to influence Iran. Mr. Blinken, as part of his shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East last week, spoke by phone with Mr. Wang, asking him to use Beijing’s influence in the region to ensure the conflict does not spread.

China has repeatedly called for restraint and a ceasefire after Israel launched a shelling of Gaza in response to an attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas that killed 1,400 Israelis. But Beijing has also sharply criticized Israel.

Officials say reestablishing military ties with China remains a top priority for the United States and that communication is being maintained at the rank-and-file level. Defense Minister Li Shangfu has not been seen in public for nearly two months.

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