China hails ‘progress’ in U.S. relations after Xi-Blinken talks
China’s Xi Jinping hailed “progress” in talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Beijing on Monday, the final engagement of a closely-watched trip aimed at ensuring the superpower’s disputes do not spiral into conflict.
Blinken, the first holder of his post to meet the Chinese leader since 2018, strode towards Xi with his hand outstretched at the Great Hall of the People, a venue China often uses for greeting heads of state – positive signals in the choreography of diplomacy, Reuters reported.
The two shook hands, then the delegations faced each other across a conference table bedecked with pink lotus flowers, with Xi at the head and Blinken just to his right.
Xi and Blinken’s roughly 30-minute meeting could help facilitate a summit between Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden later in the year.
Biden and Xi last met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia in November, pledging more frequent communication, although ties since then have deteriorated over issues ranging from Taiwan to espionage concerns.
“The two sides agreed to follow through the common understandings President Biden and I had reached in Bali. The two sides have also made progress and reached the agreement on some specific issues. This is very good,” Xi told Blinken at the start of the meeting.
Blinken responded by saying the two countries “have an obligation and responsibility” to manage their relationship and that the United States was “committed to doing that”.
His meetings in Beijing, including talks with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi and foreign minister Qin Gang, had been “candid and constructive,” he added.
It was not immediately clear from Xi’s remarks or previous readouts of Blinken’s meetings exactly what progress had been made
Chinese state media said Xi told Blinken in the otherwise closed-door talks that China “hopes to see a sound and steady China-U.S. relationship” and believes that the two countries “can overcome various difficulties”.
But he also urged the U.S. not to “hurt China’s legitimate rights and interests”, a signal of potential flashpoints such as Taiwan, the democratic island Beijing considers its own, which had cropped up during Blinken’s previous meetings.