US Secretary of State Blinken continued his talks in Beijing. On the second day of his visit, he met the top foreign policy officer, Wang, who is above the foreign minister in the Chinese power hierarchy.
In the morning, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi withdrew behind closed doors – at the same place, at the Diaoyutai state guest house in Beijing, where yesterday’s talks took place.
According to the US government, Blinken will meet students from an exchange program and US business representatives at noon. There has been speculation as to whether he could also be received by head of state and party leader Xi Jinping, but there has been no confirmation on this yet, but US and Chinese diplomats have expressed optimism in the past few days, according to the New York Times.
In the evening Chinese local time, Blinken flies on to London. Shortly before that, the US Secretary of State is due to hold a solo press conference on the details of his visit to China.
Largely positive interim conclusion
Both sides had already drawn a short interim conclusion yesterday evening. Both the US State Department and Chinese state media described the meeting between Blinken and his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang as largely unanimously open and constructive.
According to the US State Department, Blinken addressed a number of conflicting issues, as well as areas where China and the United States could work together.
Qin: Taiwan issue as the biggest risk
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin is quoted in a statement as saying China is committed to building stable, predictable and constructive relations with the United States. He had previously stressed that diplomatic relations between the United States and the People’s Republic of China are at their lowest point since they began. Qin called the Taiwan issue the biggest risk in relations between the world’s two largest economies.
The People’s Republic sees the democratically governed island state as its own national territory and has repeatedly threatened Taiwan with military force. The USA supports Taiwan militarily and expands mutual trade relations.
Next meeting already in view
According to US reports, yesterday’s talks lasted seven and a half hours, longer than planned. Resuming diplomatic talks and talking to each other to avoid conflict was a key focus of the joint talks in Beijing. Blinken and Gang want to continue the talks in the future, despite strained relationships. A suitable time is being sought for a return visit to Washington.
For US Secretary of State Blinken, it was the first visit to China since he took office more than two years ago. He actually wanted to travel to the People’s Republic in February. However, the trip was canceled at short notice because of a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the USA.