What were China’s main talking points during Blinken’s visit? 

Published : June 20,2023

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his two-day visit to Beijing were “candid, in-depth and constructive.” 

During a courtesy meeting with Blinken on Monday afternoon, Chinese President Xi Jinping made clear China’s principled position on the stable development of China-U.S. relations and proposed strategic guidance, said Yang Tao, director-general of the Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, at a press briefing over the visit.

Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, also met with Blinken on Monday, and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang held talks with the top U.S. diplomat on Sunday.

When briefing the press about China’s main talking points during the visit, Yang said the Chinese side clarified the root cause of the current difficulties in China-U.S. relations, which is the wrong perception of China by the U.S. side.

The bilateral relationship has gone through ups and downs, and it is necessary for the U.S. side to reflect deeply, he said.

“It is imperative that the common understandings reached at the Bali meeting between the two heads of state are truly put into practice,” he said.

Red lines stressed

China reiterated its firm position and raised clear demands on the Taiwan question and other core interests and major concerns, Yang said, stressing that the Taiwan question is the core of China’s core interests, the most consequential issue and the most pronounced risk in the China-U.S. relationship.

Regarding China’s development pathway, he said the U.S. should neither mirror China with the template of a hegemonic power, nor misjudge China by the trajectory taken by the Western powers.

China requested the U.S. to stop hyping up the “China threat” narrative, lift illegal unilateral sanctions against China, abandon suppression of China’s technological development, and refrain from arbitrarily interfering in China’s internal affairs, he said.

Positive consensus reached

Yang added that both sides also reached some positive common understandings and outcomes.

“Both countries agreed to maintain high-level interactions and keep moving forward on consultations regarding the guiding principles of China-U.S. relations, and continue advancing consultations through the joint working group to address specific issues.”

Both sides agreed to encourage more people-to-people and educational exchanges, and had positive discussions on increasing passenger flights between the two countries, he said.

China and the U.S. welcomed more mutual visits by students, scholars and business people, and agreed to provide support and facilitation to this end, he added.

Source: CGTN