Since his visit, Blinken has had conversations about the souring relationship between the two powers. He has spoken to key Chinese foreign policy figures and his interlude with the president at the end of his visit appears to be a goodwill gesture from the Chinese government.
First visit since 2018
China and the United States must choose between cooperation or conflict, senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi told Blinken on Monday. Blinken’s visit is the first by a US secretary of state to China since 2018.
Blinken also met his Chinese colleague Qin Gang on Sunday. The conversation lasted for hours and was much longer than expected. Qin Gang said that he will also be able to visit the United States in due course. Wang Yi is the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Communist Party of China and is higher in the hierarchy than the Foreign Minister.
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Blinken said “very clearly” during meetings in Beijing that the United States does not want to separate from China. He has expressed a desire to stabilize the relationship between the two superpowers and prevent competition from getting bogged down in the conflict. According to Wang, the two countries must “stop the downward spiral of their relations. China and the United States must find a healthy and stable way of working again, work together and get along.”