China’s top diplomat visits Washington to help stabilize ties

China’s top diplomat went into a second meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday as part of a highly watched visit to Washington that could help stabilize U.S.-China ties by facilitating a summit between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister, is scheduled to meet national security advisor Jake Sullivan later Friday and possibly President Joe Biden.
After Wang and Blinken’s initial meeting Thursday evening, the Chinese side said “the two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on China-U.S. relations and issues of common concern in a constructive atmosphere.”
In its readout, the State Department said the two men addressed “areas of difference” and “areas of cooperation,” while Blinken “reiterated that the United States will continue to stand up for our interests and values and those of our allies and partners.”
Before Thursday’s meeting, Wang said China would seek to “push the relationship as soon as possible back to the track of healthy, stable and sustainable development,” raising hopes that the relationship can be steadied.
U.S. officials have said they would press Wang on the importance of China stepping up its role on the world stage if it wants to be considered a responsible major international player. The U.S. has been disappointed with China over its support for Russia in the war against Ukraine and its relative silence on the Israel-Hamas war.
“China should use whatever ability it has as an influential power to urge calm” in the Middle East, said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. “We know China has relationships with a number of countries in the region, and we would urge them to use those relationships, the lines of communication they have, to urge calm and stability.”
U.S. officials believe the Chinese have considerable leverage with Iran, which is a major backer of Hamas.
Wang has come to Washington at a time when tensions between the two countries remain high, including over U.S. export controls on advanced technology and China’s more assertive actions in the East and South China seas.
On Thursday, the U.S. military released a video of a <a href=”https://apnews.com/article/us-south-china-sea-military-jet-bomber-0af848de95db435276e7642a4a401939″ >Chinese fighter jet flying within 10 feet</a> (three meters) of an American B-52 bomber over the South China Sea, nearly causing an accident. Earlier this month, the Pentagon released footage of some of the more than 180 intercepts of U.S. warplanes by Chinese aircraft that occurred in the last two years, part of a trend U.S. military officials call concerning.
The U.S. also has renewed a warning that it would defend the Philippines in case of an armed attack under a security pact, after Chinese ships blocked and collided with two Filipino vessels off a contested shoal in the South China Sea.
During his three-day trip to Washington, Wang also is expected to discuss Taiwan, a self-governed island that Beijing considers to be part of Chinese territory. Beijing vows to seize it by force if necessary, but Washington, which has a security pact with Taiwan, opposes the use of force.
There has been no official announcement that Biden will meet with Wang. The diplomatic practice of reciprocity suggests it is likely, since Blinken met with Xi when he visited China in June.
Neither side has confirmed whether Biden and Xi will meet next month on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders gathering in San Francisco. But Wang’s trip indicates the likelihood is extremely high, said Scott Kennedy, senior adviser and trustee chair in Chinese business and economics at the Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“His visit is most likely about nailing down the agenda and negotiating potential deliverables,” Kennedy said.
The Chinese president last came to the U.S. in 2017, when former President Donald Trump hosted him at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Biden, who took office in 2021, has yet to host Xi on U.S. soil. The two men last met in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2022, on the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting of leading rich and developing nations.
The U.S.-China relationship began to sour in 2018 when the Trump administration slapped hefty tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods. It deteriorated further over a range of issues, including rights abuses, the South China Sea, Taiwan, technology and the COVID-19 pandemic.