China’s top diplomat calls for de-escalation of strained ties in meeting with Antony Blinken

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi has called on Washington and Beijing to reverse a “downward spiral” in bilateral ties, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepares to meet President Xi Jinping on a long-delayed visit to Beijing. are those who intend to build a floor under tension. Bilateral Relations.

Monday’s talks with Wang came before US Secretary of State Blinken, the first US Secretary of State to visit China since 2018, met Xi in the afternoon on the final leg of his two-day visit to Beijing, according to Chinese state media.

Analysts see a meeting with the Chinese president as crucial to the success of Blinken’s visit. In the past, most US Secretaries of State have met with top Chinese leaders.

According to China’s foreign ministry, Wang struck a more constructive tone on ties with the US before laying Beijing’s customary blame on Washington for the acrimony between the two sides.

“We must reverse the downward spiral of Sino-US relations . . . and work together to find a right path to bring China and the United States together in the new era,” the foreign ministry quoted Wang as saying. told.

He said that “the trough in Sino-US relations lies in the US’s misperception of China”.

Relations between the countries have been strained, with the US concerned about China’s growing military activity around Taiwan and its refusal to condemn Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Beijing accuses Washington of imposing export controls on advanced technology and strengthening security arrangements with regional allies to strategically contain China’s ambitions.

Blinken was scheduled to visit Beijing earlier this year, but the trip was postponed after an alleged Chinese spy balloon flew over sensitive military sites in the US before being shot down in February.

The Biden administration is keen to re-establish channels of diplomacy and communication with Beijing to reduce the risk of what it calls “misconception and miscalculation” in the relationship.

Meanwhile, China is flagging economic growth and foreign investment sentiment is plunging, exacerbated by tensions with the US.

Blinken held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Sunday for five and a half hours.

Chinese state media outlets were either neutral or upbeat on the meeting, saying the sides agreed to an understanding reached in a previous meeting between US President Joe Biden and Xi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia in November.

Chinese state media said Blinken and Qin agreed to “effectively manage differences and step up dialogue, exchanges and cooperation”, including increasing the number of people-to-people exchanges and flights between their countries. Did.

The US State Department said that Blinken “emphasized the importance of diplomacy and maintaining open channels of communication across the full range of issues to reduce the risk of misperception and miscalculation”.

“The Secretary raised opportunities to explore cooperation on a number of issues of concern as well as shared international issues with the PRC (People’s Republic of China) where our interests align,” the US State Department said in a statement.

Analysts said efforts to restart talks could be aimed at laying the groundwork for a face-to-face meeting between Xi and Biden in the US in November on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum summit.

Additional reporting by Meiqi Ding in Beijing