China-US ties ‘at lowest point’, Qin says as Blinken visits

Beijing/Washington, Jun 18 (EFE).- China’s foreign minister Qin Gang said Sunday that relations with the United States “are at their lowest point” since diplomatic ties were established.

Qin met with US secretary of state Antony Blinken as the two superpowers work towards reducing bilateral tensions over the Taiwan situation, the war in Ukraine and trade.

China’s foreign minister said the state of their relationship “does not meet the fundamental interests of the two peoples or the common expectations of the international community,” according to Chinese state television.

Qin made “clear demands on China’s core interests and main concerns, including the Taiwan issue”.

Blinken, who is on a two-day visit to Beijing, is the highest-ranking official to visit the Asian giant since president Joe Biden took office in 2021.

The talks, which the State Department said were “candid, substantive, and constructive,” lasted over five hours, according to Chinese state media.

Blinken “emphasized the importance of diplomacy and maintaining open channels of communication (…) to reduce the risk of misperception and miscalculation,” the State Department said in a readout of the meeting.

He also “raised a number of issues of concern, as well as opportunities to explore cooperation on shared transnational issues with (China) where our interests align.”

After the start of the meeting, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying expressed hope that Blinken’s visit would “refocus the China-US relationship back to what the two presidents agreed to in Bali, Indonesia,” where the two countries’ leaders, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, met during a G-20 summit in November. EFE

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