US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Wednesday urged his Chinese counterpart to “keep the lines of communication open” between the two powers. A US diplomat is due to travel to Beijing later this week to begin a diplomatic meltdown.
Bilateral relations remain tense over many issues: relations between the US and Taiwan, competition in technologies, trade or Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Anthony Blinken is scheduled to travel to Beijing later this week for further talks aimed at easing Sino-US relations. A trip that was postponed in February after a Chinese balloon intruded into US airspace.
“Since the beginning of this year, China-US relations have faced new difficulties and challenges. It is clear whose responsibility it is,” Qin Gang told his interlocutor on Wednesday, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The minister “explained China’s firm position on the Taiwan issue”, a major point of friction between the two powers, as well as Beijing’s “other essential concerns”, the press release underlined.
China considers Taiwan one of its provinces and has not successfully reunited with the rest of it since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
Beijing opposes official contact between foreign countries and Taiwanese officials. The Asian giant accuses the US of acting in this direction despite past promises.
“calculation errors”
“The United States should respect China’s concerns, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs, and stop violating China’s sovereignty, security and development interests in the name of competition,” the Beijing statement said.
On the Washington side, the account of the phone call was a little more optimistic. Anthony Blinken spoke about “the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to responsibly manage the relationship between the United States and Beijing to avoid miscalculations and conflicts,” Matthew Miller said in a press release. Foreign Office Spokesperson.
The US secretary of state also “made it clear that the United States will continue to use its diplomatic engagement to raise concerns and potential areas of cooperation,” Miller added.
Anthony Blinken is scheduled to land in Beijing on Sunday, U.S. officials said last week on condition of anonymity. The visit has yet to be officially announced by the State Department and Chinese diplomacy.
Last November, the US president and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met at the G20 summit in Indonesia for the first time since Joe Biden entered the White House.
Both the leaders agreed to cooperate on certain issues during their discussions.
First since 2018
Relations between the two powers soured again in February after a Chinese balloon flew over US territory.
US officials presented it as a “spy” plane, while Beijing assured it was a weather installation that had deviated from its trajectory.
Under pressure, Anthony Blinken promptly canceled his trip to China at the last minute. However, both countries have recently tried to play the peace card.
For example, a closed-door meeting was held in Vienna in May between White House National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan and Wang Yi, the most senior diplomatic official in the Chinese apparatus.
“China hopes that the United States (…) will work with it to stabilize Sino-US relations, bring them back to the path of healthy and sustainable development, manage differences effectively, and promote exchanges and cooperation,” Qin Gang told Anthony Blinken on Wednesday.
If Blinken’s visit this weekend is confirmed, it would be the first visit by a US secretary of state to China since his predecessor, Mike Pompeo, traveled in October 2018.
This article was published automatically. Sources: ats / afp
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