Meeting with Blinken
China’s Foreign Minister Wang travels to the USA
October 24, 2023, 1:34 a.m
After several years, there is to be another Chinese state visit to the USA: Foreign Minister Wang Yi is expected in Washington this week. The talks are unlikely to only be about bilateral tensions.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will host his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi for talks in Washington this week. Wang will be in the US capital from Thursday to Saturday, senior US officials said. The visit could hint at a possible visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the United States later this year.
Wang is the highest-ranking Chinese visitor to Washington in nearly five years. There have been numerous contacts between the USA and China in the past few months. The two rival major powers sought to manage tensions “in a responsible manner,” a U.S. official said. Details of Wang’s visit program were not initially given. It was also initially unclear whether Wang Yi would be received by US President Joe Biden. US Secretary of State Blinken was received by the Chinese head of state during his visit to Beijing in June.
At that time he also extended an invitation to the then Chinese Foreign Minister Quin Gang, which he accepted. Five weeks later, however, Beijing announced the removal of gangs. Wang Yi, who had previously held the post, was appointed in his place. In any case, Wang’s visit could serve to prepare President Xi’s trip to the United States, which could take place in San Francisco in mid-November on the occasion of the next Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
The talks between US Secretary of State Blinken and Wang are likely to focus on the recent rapprochement between China and Russia, the war in Ukraine and, above all, the war between Israel and the radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas. Points of contention between Washington and Beijing include trade restrictions, the Taiwan question and Beijing’s actions in the South China Sea.