BEIJING: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived Sunday morning local time in Beijing for a weekend of talks with Chinese officials to establish “open and empowered” communications.
Shortly before departing for China on Friday evening, Blinken told a news conference in Washington that U.S. officials would speak candidly with their Chinese counterparts about “very real concerns” on a range of issues.
Speaking alongside visiting Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Blinken said the U.S. wants to make sure “that the competition we have with China doesn’t veer into confrontation or conflict.”
Expectations are low that the trip will reset the two countries’ fraught relationship.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Friday that “the United States views China as its ‘primary rival’ and ‘the most consequential geopolitical challenge.’ This is a major strategic misjudgment.”
He said the competition the United States has with China is “not responsible competition, but irresponsible bullying. It will only push the two countries towards confrontation and create a divided world.”
Blinken is the first secretary of state to visit Beijing since 2018.
“While in Beijing, Secretary Blinken will meet with senior [People’s Republic of China] officials where he will discuss the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to responsibly manage the U.S.-PRC relationship. He will also raise bilateral issues of concern, global and regional matters, and potential cooperation on shared transnational challenges,” the State Department said Wednesday.
Tuesday night, Blinken spoke by phone with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang.
In a tweet, Blinken said he and Qin “discussed ongoing efforts to maintain open channels of communication as well as bilateral and global issues.”
(VOA)
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