BEIJING: Moving forward on “repairing” bilateral ties, the US and China held a series of meetings in Beijing, with both sides drawing “red lines” for each other. The countries agreed to continue working together on certain issues.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is on a three-day visit to China, met President Xi Jinping, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong and Shanghai Party secretary Chen Jining.
The two sides have agreed to work together on anti-narcotic measures to disrupt the global flow of synthetic drugs into the US, enhancing military-to-military communication to avoid miscalculation and conflict, and holding talks on managing the safety challenges posed by advanced forms of artificial intelligence. US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Blinken told his hosts that resolving the cases of US citizens, who had been wrongfully detained or subjected to exit bans in China, were a top priority.
Blinken raised concerns about erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy and China’s human rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet. The US also raised “serious concerns” with China over its support to Russia’s defence industrial base.
The US Secretary of State underscored upholding the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. “The Secretary reiterated that the US will continue to take necessary action to defend our interests and values, and those of our allies and partners,” Miller said.
Blinken pressed for continued progress in implementing commitments on key issues made at a summit in California where President Joe Biden and Xi had met last November.
In his opening remarks, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said “China’s legitimate development rights have been unreasonably suppressed… We urge the US not to interfere in China’s internal affairs, not to hold China’s development back, and not to step on ‘red lines’ on our sovereignty, security and development interests.” When Blinken met Xi, the Chinese President said, “China and the US should be partners rather than rivals”.