A senior US diplomat is holding talks with Wang Yi in Beijing amid reports he may also meet President Xi Jinping.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has met with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi in Beijing as the two countries take steps to repair their strained relationship.
The duo were photographed at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Monday before starting diplomatic talks.
It remains unclear whether Blinken will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping later in the day before concluding his two-day trip to the country and flying to London.
The meeting with Wang Yi follows a similar meeting between Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Sunday, which the US State Department described as a “frank, substantive and constructive” effort to maintain “channels of open communication”.
With talks lasting more than seven hours, Blinken also invited Qin Gang to the United States on a follow-up trip to maintain high-level contact between Chinese and American officials.
The Chinese reading of the meeting was also very positive, saying that both sides agreed to increase commercial flights between China and the US, as well as encourage more people-to-people exchanges through student, academic and business groups.
Relations between the United States and China have soured amid concerns over a range of issues from Taiwan to semiconductors and human rights. [Leah Millis/Pool via AFP]
He also mentioned the meeting between Xi and US President Joe Biden in Bali last year, when both leaders promised to take more concrete steps to improve communication.
While Blinken’s trip has been largely symbolic so far, it appears to have gone well given the relatively low expectations surrounding it, said Bonnie Glaser, managing director of the German Marshall Fund’s Indo-Pacific program.
“Given the deep mistrust in the relationship, so far the visit has gone better than I expected. There was zero chance of advancement. We can only hope for baby steps towards a new modus vivendi in the relationship,” he told Al Jazeera by email.
Blinken was due to visit China in February, but his trip was delayed by the discovery of a suspected Chinese spy balloon flying over the US and gathering information on domestic military sites.
His trip is the highest by a US official to China since 2019, thanks in part to COVID-19 travel restrictions, and follows several months of increased contact between top North officials Americans and Chinese abroad and by virtual meeting.
Biden said over the weekend that he hopes to meet with Xi again in the coming months, an event that would likely take place at the annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) grouping in California later this year. year.
