JABAR EKSPRES – Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken began talks on Sunday in Beijing, according to Chinese state media.
The two sides are expected to seek ways to avoid conflict amid heightened bilateral tensions over Taiwan, Russia’s incursion into Ukraine and other issues.
Qin and Blinken, who is the first cabinet-level US representative to visit China since the start of President Joe Biden’s administration in January 2021, are also expected to discuss potential cooperation in areas such as global economic stability and climate change.
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The world’s two largest economies have been at odds not only over Taiwan but also a range of other issues. Beijing considers Taiwan, the self-ruled island, part of its territory, while countries have different views, as do territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas.
As the strategic rivalry between the US and China heats up, other countries are particularly worried about the risk of miscalculation or unplanned military action by the two powers.
China cut off military-to-military communication channels with the US after US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August last year, becoming the most senior US official to set foot on the self-governing island democracy in a quarter century.
Blinken’s visit, approved by Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping last November when they met in Indonesia, has been abruptly postponed since February after a suspected Chinese spy balloon flew over the U.S.
