BEIJING: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Beijing, in the highest-level trip by a US official to China in nearly five years, Al Jazeera reported, adding that the visit aims to stabilize ties between the two powers.
Blinken’s two-day trip to Beijing comes amid the frosty bilateral ties and follows the discovery of a suspected spy balloon above the US in February that caused him to delay the trip which was planned for the same month. China and US have expressed their hopes of improving communication although they have minimized the expectations of a significant breakthrough.
Blinken is likely to meet top Chinese officials and attend a banquet at the state guesthouse in the Diaoyutai Gardens. A phone call between Blinken and his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang emphasized the increased tension between the two sides.
Al Jazeera’s Katrine Yu, reporting from the Chinese capital, said in a live report, "Beijing is looking for assurances from the US that it won't meddle in its domestic affairs, that it won't cross the red lines of its core interests, particularly Taiwan."
But expectations of any breakthrough from the visit are very low, Yu added. "But that doesn't mean that it is not significant, especially as China's neighbours are very worried that the relationship has gone so bad that there is a danger of tensions spiralling out of control into some sort of open conflict," Yu said.
Before leaving for Beijing, Blinken spoke at a press conference saying that his trip had three main objectives – setting up mechanisms for crisis management, advancing US and allies' interests as well as speaking directly about related concerns, and exploring areas of potential cooperation, according to Al Jazeera.
“If we want to make sure, as we do, that the competition that we have with China doesn't veer into conflict, the place you start is with communicating,” Blinken said.
Before departure, Blinken also met his counterpart from Singapore, a US ally, in Washington, who expressed hope that the US would stay as a global power while finding ways to coexist with a rising China. Blinken's "trip is essential, but not sufficient", Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said. (ANI)
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