2023-06-19 04:13:51
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met Monday in Beijing with China’s top foreign affairs official, Wang Yi, on the last day of a visit to the country aimed at improving deeply strained relations.
The two men met at the “Diaoyutai” government guest house in Beijing, and briefly exchanged pleasantries before heading out for a closed-door meeting.
And Sunday, Blinken, who is the highest-ranking US official to visit Beijing in nearly five years, spoke with his Chinese counterpart, Chen Gang, for seven and a half hours.
The two sides announced that Foreign Minister Qin Gang agreed to visit Washington later.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that Blinken stressed “the importance of diplomacy and maintaining open channels of communication on all issues to reduce the risks of misunderstanding and miscalculation,” describing the talks as “frank, substantive and constructive.”
Monday, Blinken will hold more meetings and address reporters before leaving, noting that he and Chen did not make any comments on the first day of the visit and contented themselves with their appearances in front of the press by taking pictures as they shook hands in front of the flags of the two countries in the government guest house.
But behind closed doors, Chen told his American counterpart that relations between the United States and China are “at their lowest level since the establishment of diplomatic relations” in 1979, according to the state-run CCTV TV.
“It is not in line with the fundamental interests of the two peoples, nor does it meet the common expectations of the international community,” Chen said during the talks in the ancient Diaoyutai Gardens, according to the same source.
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