On mission to ease US-China tensions, Blinken opens second day of talks

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has opened a second and final day of critical meetings with senior Chinese officials as the two sides expressed willingness to talk but showed little inclination to bend on hardened positions that have sent tensions soaring news agency AP reportedBlinken was meeting Monday morning with Chinas top diplomat Wang Yi and an encounter with President Xi Jinping was still in the cards before he departs in the late evening Neither Blinken nor Wang made any comment to reporters as they greeted each other and sat for their discussionIn the first round of talks on Sunday Blinken met for nearly six hours with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang after which both countries said they had agreed to continue highlevel discussions However there was no sign that any of the most fractious issues between them were closer to resolutionThe two sides both said Qin had accepted an invitation from Blinken to visit Washington but Beijing made clear that the ChinaUS relationship is at the lowest point since its establishment That sentiment is widely shared by US officialsThe State Department said Blinken had stressed the importance of diplomacy and maintaining open channels of communication across the full range of issues to reduce the risk of misperception and miscalculation The Chinese meanwhile restated their position that the current state of relations does not serve the fundamental interests of the two peoples or meet the shared expectations of the international community according to the foreign ministryBlinken is the highestlevel American official to visit China since President Joe Biden took office and his twoday trip comes after his initial plans to travel to China were postponed in February after the shootdown of a Chinese surveillance balloon over the US Despite Blinkens presence in China he and other US officials had played down the prospects for any significant breakthroughs on the most vexing issues facing the planets two largest economiesStill his talks could pave the way for a meeting in the coming months between Biden and Xi Biden said Saturday that he hoped to be able to meet with Xi in the coming months to take up the plethora of differences that divide themThat long list incudes disagreements ranging from trade to Taiwan human rights conditions in China and Hong Kong to Chinese military assertiveness in the South China Sea and Russias war in UkraineIn his meetings on Sunday Blinken also pressed the Chinese to release detained American citizens and to take steps to curb the production and export of fentanyl precursors that are fueling the opioid crisis in the United States Blinken made clear that the United States will always stand up for the interests and values of the American people and work with its allies and partners to advance our vision for a world that is free open and upholds the international rulesbased order the State Department saidThe Chinese foreign ministry countered in its statement that China hopes that the US will adopt an objective and rational perception of China work with China in the same direction uphold the political foundation of ChinaUS relations and handle unexpected and sporadic events in a calm professional and rational mannerBlinken and other officials have emphasized the importance of the US and China establishing and maintaining better lines of communicationBiden and Xi had made commitments to improve communications precisely so that we can make sure we are communicating as clearly as possible to avoid possible misunderstandings and miscommunications Blinken said before leavingXi offered a hint of a possible willingness to reduce tensions saying in a meeting with Microsoft Corp cofounder Bill Gates on Friday that the United States and China can cooperate to benefit our two countriesSince the cancellation of Blinkens trip in February there have been some highlevel engagements CIA chief William Burns traveled to China in May while Chinas commerce minister traveled to the US And Bidens national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Wang Yi in Vienna in MayBut those have been punctuated by bursts of angry rhetoric from both sides over the Taiwan Strait their broader intentions in the IndoPacific Chinas refusal to condemn Russia for its war against Ukraine and US allegations from Washington that Beijing is attempting to boost its worldwide surveillance capabilities including in CubaAnd earlier this month Chinas defense minister rebuffed a request from US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for a meeting on the sidelines of a security symposium in Singapore a sign of continuing discontentMeanwhile the national security advisers of the United States Japan and the Philippines held their first joint talks last week and agreed to strengthen their defense cooperation in part to counter Chinas growing influence and ambitionsThis coincides with the Biden administration inking an agreement with Australia and Britain to provide the first with nuclearpowered submarines with China moving rapidly to expand its diplomatic presence especially in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific island nations where it has opened or has plans to open at least five new embassies over the next yearThe agreement is part of an 18monthold nuclear partnership given the acronym AUKUS for Australia the United Kingdom and the United StatesWith inputs from AP