Blinking in Beijing: China and US Resume Communications Still No Sign of Survivors After Mediterranean Disaster

In China’s power hierarchy, the top politician ranks above Foreign Minister Qin Gang. The first visit by a US secretary of state to China since 2018 comes amid deep disagreements and ongoing disputes between the rival powers, with Beijing also cutting communication channels.

According to US reports, Blinken spoke to his counterpart for seven and a half hours on Sunday – much longer than planned. The US Secretary of State also invited Qin Gang to Washington for a return visit. In official statements that followed, both sides described the talks as frank, in-depth and constructive. China’s foreign minister, however, saw relations as “at their nadir” since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1979.

Still, there was speculation whether Blinken would be received by head of state and party leader Xi Jinping on Monday. However, such a meeting would be unusual in terms of protocol and could be seen as a special gesture. There was initially no confirmation in Beijing that such a meeting could be scheduled. Blinken makes up for a trip that was originally supposed to take place in February, but was canceled at short notice due to allegations of espionage against China over the balloon affair.

According to the US State Department, Blinken has addressed a number of conflicting issues, as well as areas where China and the United States could work together. Speaking to Qin Gang, he affirmed that the United States is pursuing a vision of a world “that is free, open and maintains order based on international rules.” His counterpart said China wanted “stable, predictable and constructive” relations and hoped the US would “work in the same direction”.

In the heightened tensions since last summer, the Chinese side had repeatedly refused to talk through existing communication channels, as described by a US diplomat. “We tried to contact them several times, but no one answered in Beijing,” the diplomat said. He cited events such as China’s major maneuvers in response to then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August, as well as other incidents between the two sides’ forces in the Taiwan Strait or the South China Sea.

Earlier this month, Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu also refused to meet his US counterpart Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of the Asian security dialogue Shangri-La in Singapore. Despite his own refusal to talk in recent months, China’s foreign minister during Blinken’s meeting urged the US to work with China “to handle unexpected and sporadic incidents in a calm, professional and rational manner.” to act”.

At the same time, Qin Gang made “clear demands on the Taiwan issue”: the United States must adhere to the “One China principle”, keep its commitments, and not support the independence forces in Taiwan. One China Policy means that Beijing is seen as China’s only legitimate government. China considers democratic Taiwan part of the People’s Republic and threatens to conquer it. However, Taipei has had an independent government for more than seven decades, which today no longer claims to represent all of China. (sda/dpa)