INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday, as the top U.S
diplomat wrapped up a high-stakes two-day visit to Beijing aimed at easing soaring tensions between the countries.The 35-minute meeting at
the Great Hall of the People had been expected and was seen as key to the success of the trip, but neither side confirmed it would happen
until a State Department official announced it just an hour beforehand.In footage of the meeting released by state broadcaster CCTV, Xi is
earlier meetings between Blinken and senior Chinese officials, the two sides expressed willingness to talk but showed little inclination to
bend from hardened positions on disagreements ranging from trade, to Taiwan, to human rights conditions in China and Hong Kong, to Chinese
economies.Instead, these officials have emphasized the importance of the two countries establishing and maintaining better lines of
communication.Blinken is the highest-level U.S
official to visit China since President Joe Biden took office, and the first secretary of state to make the trip in five years
His visit is expected to usher in a new round of visits by senior U.S
diplomat Wang Yi for about three hours, according to a U.S
importance of responsibly managing the competition between the United States and the PRC through open channels of communication to ensure
Minister Qin Gang after which both countries said they had agreed to continue high-level discussions
However, there was no sign that any of the most fractious issues between them were closer to resolution.Both the U.S
surveillance balloon over the U.S.A snub by the Chinese leader would have been a major setback to the effort to restore and maintain
Biden said over the weekend that he hoped to be able to meet with Xi in the coming months to take up the plethora of differences that divide
them.In 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.Xi offered a hint of a possible
willingness to reduce tensions on Friday, saying in a meeting with Microsoft Corp
in February, there have been some high-level engagements
been punctuated by bursts of angry rhetoric from both countries over the Taiwan Strait, their broader intentions in the Indo-Pacific,
allegations from Washington that Beijing is attempting to boost its worldwide surveillance capabilities, including in Cuba.And, earlier this
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for a meeting on the sidelines of a security symposium in Singapore, a sign of continuing discontent.Source -
The Associated Press
-Agencies
