On the first day of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s visit to Beijing to ease tensions, Washington today welcomed “constructive” and “frank” talks and expressed satisfaction that the Chinese foreign minister agreed to return the visit by traveling to Washington. .

The two-day visit is the first trip by a US Secretary of State to Chinese soil in nearly five years.

Blinken met his Chinese counterpart Qi Gang at a lavishly decorated state mansion located in the ancient Diaoyutai Gardens in Beijing, where his Chinese hosts were then to host a meal.

Although no one expected significant progress, as there are many friction issues — mainly trade and the Taiwan — the idea was to initiate a diplomatic rewarming of relations and maintain a dialogue in order to “responsibly manage the Sino-US relationship,” according to the State Department.

The two men had “frank, meaningful and constructive” talks, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said after the meeting. Blinken raised a number of contentious issues as well as areas where China and the United States could work together, according to the State Department.

In the several-hour debate, Blinken reiterated that the United States is pursuing a “vision of a world that is free, open and upholding the rules-based international order.” Blinken particularly emphasized “the importance of diplomacy and maintaining open channels of communication on all issues to reduce the risk of misperception and misjudgment” (which could lead to escalation), he clarified.

Anthony Blinken also invited Chin, and the two men agreed to “plan such a visit at a mutually convenient date” to be determined, State Department spokesman Matt Miller said.

The lowest point

For his part, the Chinese foreign minister reminded his American counterpart that relations between Beijing and Washington are “at an all-time low” since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1979, according to statements broadcast by Chinese state television CCTV.

And among the points of friction, Chin made it clear that the Taiwan issue is the most sensitive. “Her issue Taiwan constitutes the fundamental issue of China’s primary interests, the most important issue in China-US relations and the biggest danger” to them, he said, according to CCTV. China views Taiwan as one of its provinces that it must reunify, using military force if necessary.

The visit of the head of US diplomacy was initially planned for February, in the wake of last November’s meeting between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia. But the visit was canceled at the last minute. The reason: a Chinese balloon flying over the US territory, which Washington considered a “spy” aircraft, while Beijing assured that it was a meteorological balloon that deviated from its course.

On the occasion of his secretary of state’s visit to China, Joe Biden downplayed the balloon incident. “I don’t think the leaders knew where this was, what it contained and what was going on,” Biden told reporters on Saturday. “I think it was more annoying than purposeful.” Joe Biden said he looked forward to another meeting with Xi Jinping “within the next few months.” The two leaders are expected to attend the upcoming G20 summit in September in New Delhi, and Xi has been invited to San Francisco in November for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Hard line

Blinken’s visit is the first by a US secretary of state to China since the October 2018 trip by his predecessor, Mike Pompeo, who then masterminded the strategic confrontation with Beijing in the final years of Donald Trump’s presidency.

The government Biden has since maintained that hard linecontinuing to get even tougher in some areas, notably by imposing export controls to limit the market and manufacturing of high-tech chips from Beijing “used in military applications.”

However, Washington wants to work with China on critical issues like climate. Blinken’s visit also comes at a time when parts of China are experiencing a heat wave, with a new mid-June temperature record set on Friday in Beijing at 39.4 degrees Celsius.

For Danny Russell, a former senior State Department official, each side has an interest in this visit: China hopes to avoid new US restrictions on technology and any new support for Taiwan. The United States wishes to prevent any incident that could lead to a military confrontation.

“Blinken’s short visit will not solve any of the major problems in the relationship between the United States and China,” said Russell, now vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York. “But his visit could restart much-needed face-to-face dialogue and send the message that the two countries are moving from angry rhetoric in front of the media to more sober talks behind closed doors.”