US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on August 3 that Washington has yet to receive a response to the invitation extended by newly appointed Foreign Minister Wang Yi to visit the United States.
"We haven't received a response yet, but we just recently extended the invitation," Blinken told reporters at United Nations headquarters in New York after he chaired a meeting on global food security.
"I hope we will have the opportunity to meet and continue the important dialogues that I and some of my Cabinet colleagues have had in Beijing," Blinken shared.
In late July, Wang was reappointed to the position of China's Foreign Minister, a position he previously held from 2013 to December 2022. Wang is also the Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on August 2 that the US had extended an invitation to Wang to visit Washington the previous day, during a meeting between Daniel Kritenbrink, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Yang Tao, Director-General of the North America and Oceania Affairs Bureau at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
US President Joe Biden has sent his top aides to Beijing in recent months to stabilize bilateral relations, which have sunk to their lowest point since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1979.
China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for bilateral discussions on the sidelines of the ASEAN meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, on July 13, 2023. Photo: SCMP
In mid-June, Blinken became the first U.S. Secretary of State to visit China in five years. He met with Qin Gang, who had just been dismissed as Secretary of State, as well as President Xi Jinping. Both sides described the talks as "frank and constructive."
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was the latest U.S. government official to visit Beijing, where she participated in hours-long meetings with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Vice Premier He Lifeng.
Following Yellen's trip was Biden's climate envoy, John Kerry, who met with his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua.
Following a four-day trip, which included closed-door talks, Kerry said he had had “productive discussions.” Although no breakthrough was achieved on climate cooperation, both sides agreed to hold meetings on a regular basis.
Amidst rising tensions over Biden's export controls on certain semiconductor technologies aimed at hindering China's technological advancements, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is also expected to visit Beijing later this August.
Foreign Secretary Blinken said on August 3, “continuing these conversations would be very helpful.” Blinken also emphasized that he had spoken with Wang in July, on the sidelines of an ASEAN meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, and expressed his desire to meet Wang again in the United States .
Nguyen Tuyet (According to Anadolu Agency, SCMP)
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