Xi Jinping hails progress after meeting with Antony Blinken
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Chinese president Xi Jinping hailed “progress” in relations with the US after a rare visit from secretary of state Antony Blinken aimed at halting a slide towards conflict.
Using notably positive language, Mr Xi said it was “very good” the two nations reached agreements on “some specific issues”, without specifying which.
Mr Blinken’s visit, the first by the US’s top diplomat since 2018, ended without an agreement to restart communication between the military leaders of the two nations, a key goal for the White House.
Joe Biden said Mr Blinken “did a hell of a job” in his rare visit to Beijing. The US president added: “We’re on the right trail here.”
Washington views direct communication as key to avoiding mishaps over Taiwan or in the South China Sea that could spark physical clashes between the world’s largest economies.
Earlier this month, a Chinese navy ship sailed within 140 metres (459 feet) of a US Navy destroyer in a near-collision, the second close encounter between the two militaries within a fortnight.
However, after a 35-minute meeting in Beijing’s Grand Hall of the People, Mr Blinken said he had agreed with Mr Xi to try and “stabilise” relations, which have been marred by clashes over spy balloons, Taiwan, Ukraine and human rights.
In a press conference after the meeting, Mr Blinken spoke positively about an agreement to try and curb the supply of fentanyl into the US.
“I raised as a priority the issue of opiates and fentanyl,” he said. “We agreed to set up a working group or joint effort to shut off the flow.” The synthetic drug has wrought havoc across the US over the last decade.
“China’s messaging has been pretty positive,” said Wu Xinbo, a professor and director at the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, in Shanghai.
“China showed that it still hopes to work with the US to stabilise and improve relations. I think that while China is not optimistic about Sino-US relations, it has not given up hope either.”
Earlier on Monday, Mr Blinken met for three hours with China’s top foreign policy official, Wang Yi.
Mr Wang presented an ultimatum on Monday, saying the US must choose between “cooperation or conflict”.
“It is necessary to make a choice between dialogue and confrontation, cooperation or conflict,” Mr Wang told Mr Blinken, according to a readout from Chinese state media.
Mr Blinken said that the US had set limited objectives for the trip, and mostly achieved them. It was hoped the visit would pave the way for more visa access and flights between China and the US.
Both countries said Sunday that Mr Qin had accepted an offer to visit the US at a later date.
Mr Blinken emphasised “the importance of diplomacy and maintaining open channels of communication across the full range of issues to reduce the risk of misperception and miscalculation”.
Meanwhile, Chinese Premier Li Qiang started a visit to Germany and France on Monday that comes as Europe seeks to balance concerns over economic dependence on China and about its stance toward Ukraine and Taiwan with a desire to engage Beijing on issues such as climate change.
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