HONG KONG – Secretary of State Anthony Blinken He met with the President of China Xi Jinping He ended his three-day visit in Beijing on Friday Demon contentious issues and the landlords’ warning of another “downward spiral” in relations prevailed.
The two men met on Friday afternoon local time In the Great Hall of the People, an ornate and cavernous building next to Tiananmen Square.
The visit is Blinken’s second in less than a year as the two superpowers seek to stabilize ties with new talks despite a growing list of geopolitical differences.
The main purpose of Blinken’s visit to China was to warn about Russia’s support for the war against Ukraine, which began weeks after Moscow and Beijing announced an “unrestricted” partnership in 2022. Although China does not provide lethal aid to Russia. Blinken said last week it supplies machine tools, semiconductors and other dual-use items, making it a “major contributor” to Russia’s defense industrial base.
Other issues on the agenda included China’s economic and trade practices, and China’s aggression, which the United States considers unfair. South China SeaStability in the Taiwan Strait, North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, and the Israel-Hamas war.
On Friday morning, Blinken met with China’s foreign minister Wang Yi In the Diaoyutai State Guest House, where foreign states are often received.
“In our view, there is no substitute for face-to-face diplomacy to try and move forward, but also to make sure that we are as clear as possible about the areas where we disagree, at least to avoid misunderstandings, to avoid miscalculations,” Blinken told Wang before the meeting.
Speaking through an interpreter before the meeting, Wang said the US-China relationship “has gone through ups and downs and twists and turns”.
He said relations were beginning to stabilize, but “negative factors” were increasing.
“China’s legitimate development rights have been unreasonably suppressed and our core interests are at stake,” Wang said, in an apparent reference to US export controls and other measures aimed at curbing Beijing’s economic growth.
“Should China and the United States stay on track to move forward with stability, or return to a downward spiral?” he said. “This is the main question before our two countries.”
Blinken later described his more than three-hour meeting with Wang as “extensive and constructive.”
According to a State Department reading, the two discussed next steps on a number of commitments made by Xi and the President. Joe Biden their production Summit in California In November, including developing cooperation on counter-narcotics, military-to-military relations, talks on AI risks and security, and facilitating people-to-people exchanges.
The summit, the first meeting between the two leaders in a year, was aimed at stabilizing US-China relations, which have hit their lowest point in decades amid disputes over trade, technology, the status of Taiwan and the sighting of a suspected Chinese spy balloon. over US territory.
Although the relationship has improved since then, it is still being tested by them Strengthening US security allies In the Asia-Pacific region, U.S. concerns about Chinese goods flooding global markets, U.S. inquiries about China electric car, shipbuilding and other industries, possibility The US has increased tariffs on Chinese goodsand one that could result in legislation this week The US has banned the Chinese app TikTok.
The legislation, signed by Biden during Blinken’s visit to China on Wednesday, also includes $8 billion for security in Taiwan, a self-governing island democracy that Beijing claims as its territory, and in the United States and the Pacific region. China is competing for influence.
Blinken last visited China in June, where he met with Xi. The trip included a stop in Shanghai, where Blinken met with US business leaders and visited Shanghai New York University Shanghai Campus.