Chinese President Xi Jinping on June 19 said China and the United States had made “progress” on some of the issues recently straining relations as he met with visiting Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Beijing.
That Mr. Xi met the visiting top U.S. diplomat – the meeting hadn’t been confirmed publicly when Mr. Blinken landed in Beijing on Sunday on the first visit by the top U.S. diplomat since 2018 – was seen by observers as reflecting a new willingness on both sides to bring some stability to relations. Both sides are also looking to pave the way for Mr. Xi and Mr. Biden to meet later this year for the first time since Bali in November 2022, when they agreed to prevent relations from sliding into conflict. Talks are expected either at the G-20 in India in September or at the APEC summit in the U.S. in November.
The months since Bali have, however, seen a fractious period in relations. Disagreements remain on key issues from trade, where China has hit out at export curbs, to Taiwan and the South China Sea.
Mr. Xi said Beijing had “has made our position clear and the two sides have agreed to follow through the common understandings President Biden and I had reached in Bali,” state media reported. “Two sides have also made progress and reached agreement on some specific issues,” he said.
Both Mr. Xi and Mr. Blinken referred to the goal of stabilising ties. Mr. Xi said he hoped the visit would contribute towards doing so, while Mr. Blinken later told reporters he agreed on the need to “stabilise” relations but was “clear-eyed” on differences.
“The world needs a generally stable China-U.S. relationship,” Mr. Xi said. “Whether the two countries can find the right way to get along bears on the future and destiny of humanity….The international community is generally concerned about the current state of China-U.S. relations. It does not want to see conflict or confrontation between China and the United States or choose sides between the two countries.”
Following his talks with Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Sunday, Mr. Blinken on Monday also met with Politburo member Wang Yi, who heads the Central Foreign Affairs Commission.
Mr. Wang told him both sides “need to take a responsible attitude toward our people, history, and the world, reverse the downward spiral of China-U.S. relations, and work together to find the right way for China and the U.S. to coexist in the new era.”
He said the visit “comes at a crucial juncture in U.S.-China relations, where choices need to be made between dialogue or confrontation, cooperation or conflict.”
