China-US Talks: Xi Calls for 'Mutual Respect' in Meeting with Antony Blinken

BEIJING: China's President Xi Jinping, while receiving US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Beijing on Monday, called for mutual respect in the relations between the two countries.

During the meeting, Xi reportedly told Blinken that “mutual respect and sincerity" should always be at the basis of interactions at the state-to-state level, according to a tweet by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.

Antony Blinken was received by Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on the second day of his meetings with high-level diplomatic contacts, Chinese public broadcaster CGTN reported. This is considered to be contact on the highest level between the world's top two economies since Xi met American president Joe Biden in Indonesia last November.

According to Xi, talks with Secretary Blinken were described by Director Wang Yi and State Councilor Qin Gang as candid and in-depth, Chinese media reports said.

XI also said that the Chinese side has made clear its position, and the common understandings reached between him and President Biden in Bali are being followed through by two sides. “The two sides also made progress and reached agreement on some specific issues," Xi said.

He also expressed the hope that Secretary Blinken could help make a positive contribution in stabilizing China-US relations through this visit.

Blinken met China's foreign affairs chief Wang Yi early on Monday, after more than seven hours of official and unofficial discussions with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang on Sunday.

Wang reportedly told Blinken that bilateral relations between China-US were at a "critical juncture" and that "it is necessary to make a choice between dialogue or confrontation, cooperation or conflict," said a statement from Beijing.

He added during a meeting that lasted for around three hours that the wrong understanding of China by the US lay at the “root cause of the current downturn in China-US relations”.

However, a day before, Qin had termed the relations between the two countries to be at the lowest point, ever since diplomatic relations were established Beijing and Washington.

Wang placed the onus of normalizing the relations on Washington.

"For China-US relations to be stable and long-term, the most important thing is to follow the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation (as) proposed by President Xi Jinping," said Wang.

Wang however told Blinken that there was "no room for compromise" on the matter of Taiwan, a focal point of rising tensions between the US and China, urging the US to "adhere to the one-China principle." China views the island as a "breakaway province" and refuses to recognise Taiwan’s bid to be seen as an independent nation.

Both sides used words like "positive," "candid," and "constructive" to describe the meeting between Wang and Blinken on Sunday.

A meeting of defense chiefs, as requested by the US, was recently declined by China. Beijing had played host to a few top American businessmen before Blinken flew into China, the first time since 2018 that any US Secretary of State had visited the world's second-largest economy.

While Tesla carmaker Elon Musk was hosted by Qin, American billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates was granted an audience by Xi, who described him as an "old friend.” Xi also said he was the "first American" he received in Beijing this year.

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