US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned on Friday, during a meeting with high-ranking Chinese officials, about the danger of misunderstanding and miscalculation in mutual relations.
Blinken met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong, who said Blinken would also meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Blinken’s meeting with Xi was expected but unannounced.
In recent months, the negotiations between the US and China have become more intense, although disagreements on several bilateral, regional and global issues have increased.
Blinken and Wang stressed the importance of keeping the lines of communication open, but they also lamented that the disagreements are becoming more serious.
Their remarks hinted at a long list of differences still to be discussed, including Taiwan and the South China Sea, trade and human rights, and China’s support for Russia.
“Overall, Sino-US relations are beginning to stabilize,” Wang told Blinken at the start of the talks. “But at the same time, the negative factors in the relationship continue to grow and accumulate,” he added.
Blinken said the Biden administration attaches great importance to U.S.-China dialogue, even on contentious issues. He noted that some progress had been made over the past year, but suggested that negotiations would remain difficult.
The US State Department later said that during the five-hour meeting, Blinken and Wang had “in-depth, meaningful and constructive discussions” about both differences and cooperation, and said that Blinken had defended US interests.
Blinken “stressed that the United States will continue to defend our interests and values and those of our allies and partners, including in human rights and economic issues,” the State Department said in a statement.
Blinken arrived in China on Wednesday and visited Shanghai before Beijing.
