US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang kicked off a meeting in Beijing on Sunday (18) in which both sides will try to iron out differences after months of tensions.
Blinken arrived in the Chinese capital on Sunday morning, becoming the highest-ranking US official to visit China since US President Joe Biden took office in 2021.
Chinese social media users commented on the fact that a red carpet had not been laid down at the bottom of the stairs when Blinken stepped off the plane, which some interpreted as a sign of a cold reception.
Upon arriving at Diaoyutai, the complex in Beijing where Chinese officials usually receive foreign visitors, Qin and Blinken spoke briefly as they walked to the room that hosted the meeting. Prior to the meeting, there were no statements made to the press by representatives of the two powers, contrary to previous occasions when there were mutual recriminations.
In 2021, before a meeting held in Alaska (USA), the then head of the Communist Party of China for Foreign Affairs, Yang Jiechi, used 18 minutes to harshly contest some of Blinken’s statements on camera.
The Secretary of State will remain in Beijing for two days for a visit that will address topics such as “economic cooperation, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the Taiwan issue and the preparation of the next high-level meetings”, according to media outlets of the asian country.
Sunday’s meeting comes after Qin and Blinken exchanged disapprovals last Wednesday during a phone conversation that marked the first high-level bilateral contact in months. At the time, the Chinese minister urged the US to cease its efforts to harm China’s sovereign security and development interests “in the name of competition”.
For his part, Blinken urged Qin for efforts by China to “keep the lines of communication open” to avoid a conflict.
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