US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang to begin an important two-day trip to Beijing on Sunday.
Chinese state television showed two senior diplomats and their delegations greeting each other and sitting across from each other at two long tables at the state-run Diaoyutai Guest House in Beijing.
The content of the talks was not initially reported. The couple were also scheduled to have dinner later that day.
A series of meetings are scheduled with senior government officials before the departure of Blinken, the most senior US official to visit China in recent years.
It remains unclear whether he will meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Blinken is on his first visit to China since taking office in 2021, when US-China tensions were simmering.
He is making up for a long-planned trip he promptly canceled in February when a diplomatic crisis erupted over the discovery of what Washington said was a Chinese observation balloon over US soil.
Blinken said on Friday that he would speak “bluntly and frankly about very real concerns on a range of issues.”
The goal, he said, was to establish “open and effective communication” for the two superpowers to “manage” their relationship responsibly.
“Intense competition requires sustained diplomacy to ensure that competition doesn’t escalate into confrontation or conflict,” he told reporters.
The US and China have one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world.
These ties have been seriously strained by a variety of issues, including China’s neutrality regarding Russia’s war in Ukraine, Beijing’s threats against Taiwan, and ongoing trade disputes in areas such as advanced computer chips.
The administration of US President Joe Biden called China “the most serious geopolitical problem” facing the US.
Ahead of Blinken’s visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin signaled Beijing’s readiness to negotiate, but with conditions.
“You can’t say one thing and do another,” Wang said Friday. Washington should also “give up the illusion of engaging with China ‘from a position of strength’,” he said.
“China and the United States should develop relations based on mutual respect and equality, respect differences in history, culture, social system and development path, and consider each other’s core interests and major concerns,” Wang said.
Shortly before Blinken’s arrival in Beijing, Biden on Saturday said he hoped to meet with President Xi “within the next few months,” adding that he would like to discuss “legitimate differences” between China and the US, as well as areas where the two superpowers might “get along.”
Biden also downplayed the Chinese balloon incident, saying he did not believe China’s top leadership knew where the plane was or how it was equipped.
“I think it was more embarrassing than intentional,” Biden said.
