In a high-level phone call on Wednesday, the US and China discussed their “new difficulties and challenges.”
“New Difficulties”
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang warned US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the two superpowers were facing “new difficulties and challenges” since the beginning of the year.
“It’s clear who is responsible,” Qin said, in a supposed reference to what it calls the US’ “provocations.”
The diplomat added that China has “always viewed and managed China-US relations in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation put forward by President Xi Jinping.”
US Response
“Spoke tonight with [China’s] State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang by phone,” Blinken tweeted following the phone call, adding that the two “discussed ongoing efforts to maintain open channels of communication as well as bilateral and global issues.”
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told the media that Blinken had stressed to Qin “the importance of maintaining open lines of communication” to “responsibly manage” the volatile relationship and “avoid miscalculation and conflict.”
Blinken also “made clear the US would continue to use diplomatic engagements to raise areas of concern as well as areas of potential cooperation,” Miller said.
Blinken’s Beijing Visit
The phone call between the two comes just days ahead of Blinken’s arrival in Beijing on 18 June. It is the first trip by a top US diplomat to China since his predecessor Mike Pompeo did so in October 2018.
US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping had initially agreed during their November meeting in Bali to try to prevent already high tensions from reaching a tipping point, including by sending Blinken to Beijing.
However, Blinken abruptly cancelled his February trip after the US detected and shot down a high-altitude surveillance balloon belonging to China, sparking fresh tensions.
China Warns US of “New Difficulties” in Relationship Days Before Blinken’s Beijing Visit
The phone call between China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken comes just days ahead of Blinken’s arrival in Beijing on 18 June.
June 14, 2023
IMAGE SOURCE: AFPChina’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang (L) and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.