Blinken speaks with China’s top diplomat in latest sign of thaw ahead of G20 summit
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the latest in a series of such exchanges ahead of a possible face-to-face meeting between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
The two discussed the need to maintain an open dialogue and responsibly manage their relationship, the State Department’s spokesman Ned Price said in a statement late on Sunday.
Blinken raised concerns about Russia’s war against Ukraine and the threats it poses to global security and economic stability, Price said.
The pair also spoke about the deteriorating humanitarian and security situation in Haiti and the need to provide continued support.
John Kirby, a spokesman for Biden’s National Security Council, said last week that teams were still working through a possible meeting between Biden and Xi when world leaders gather at a Group of 20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia, in November.
If a meeting were to happen, it would be Biden’s first sit-down as president with the Chinese leader.
Nicholas Burns, the US ambassador to China, also met with Wang on Friday, almost eight months after the envoy arrived in Beijing.
Last week, Xi said in a letter to a New York-based group supporting stronger bilateral ties that Beijing was willing to find a way to get along with Washington.
The comments from Xi struck a conciliatory tone after a Communist Party congress during which he secured a norm-breaking third term in power and promised China would stand its ground in a more hostile world.