Blinken meets with Xi Jinping in an effort to ease tensions between Washington and Beijing

United States Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, He will hold a meeting with the Chinese president on Monday, Xi Jinping, Within the framework of the official visit of the US chief of diplomacy to Beijing.

The meeting raises the tone for the trip, which seeks to repair damaged diplomatic relations between the great powers.

In remarks at the start of the meeting, Xi told Blinken that he hoped his trip would bring “a positive outcome” to bilateral relations.according to public television.

“Interactions between one country and another should always be based on mutual respect and honesty. I hope that Secretary Blinken, through this visit, will achieve a positive outcome for the stability of Sino-American relations.”

He stressed that “the two parties made progress and found areas of understanding on several specific points,” which were not specified. system leaderWho described these developments as “a very good thing”, according to a video broadcast by public television CCTV.

“I hope that, through this visit, Secretary Blinken will achieve a positive outcome for stabilizing relations between China and the United States,” the president said.

Blinken held the second day of crucial meetings on Monday with senior Chinese officials, In which the two sides expressed their desire for dialogue, but they were unwilling to give in to the extremist positions that raised tensions.

Blinken met with the chief Chinese diplomat, Wang Yifor about three hours, according to a US official.

The chairman of the CPC Foreign Affairs Committee stressed at the meeting that his country “No concessions can be made on the Taiwan issue“.

“Protecting national unity has always been at the core of China’s core interests and the historical mission of the CPC,” local newspaper Global Times reported.

Wang, remaining hawkish, called on the United States to “respect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and “oppose Taiwan independence.”

“A choice must be made between dialogue, confrontation, cooperation and conflictsaid Wang, who encouraged restoring a “healthy” course in bilateral relations and “working together” so that “China and the United States can get along well.”

On the sidelines, the Chinese Foreign Ministry wrote in a statement that “Wang Yi said that the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to Beijing coincides with a critical juncture in US-China relations, And that it is necessary to choose between dialogue, confrontation, cooperation or conflict,” and blamed the “misperception of China by the United States, which leads to wrong policies towards China” for the current “low point” in relations.

He stressed that the United States bears the responsibility to stop “the escalating deterioration of Sino-American relations in order to return it to a healthy and stable track.”

Despite Blinken’s presence in China, he and other US officials have played down the possibility of significant progress on the most contentious issues facing the world’s two largest economies.

Instead, they stressed the importance of both countries establishing and maintaining better lines of communication.

he county management It said Blinken “stressed the importance of responsible management of the competition between the United States and the People’s Republic of China through open channels of communication to ensure that competition does not devolve into conflict.”

In the first round of talks on Sunday, Blinken met for about six hours with Chinese Foreign Minister Chen GangAfterwards, the two countries said they agreed to continue the high-level talks. However, there was no indication that any of the most contentious issues between them was any closer to resolution.

Both sides said Chen had accepted an invitation from Blinken to visit Washington, but Beijing made it clear that “China-US relations are at the lowest level since their establishment.” American officials broadly share this sentiment.

Blinken is the highest-ranking US official to visit China since President Joe Biden took office, and his two-day trip comes after his initial plans to travel to China in February were delayed after a balloon was shot down. Chinese surveillance of the United States.

(with information from the AP)

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