WASHINGTON, June 18. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has invited his Chinese counterpart, China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang, to visit Washington to continue bilateral consultations, the US Department of State said on Sunday after their talks in Beijing.
"The Secretary invited State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin to Washington to continue the discussions, and they agreed to schedule a reciprocal visit at a mutually suitable time," Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a press statement.
The spokesperson described Sunday’s talks as "candid, substantive, and constructive." "The Secretary emphasized the importance of diplomacy and maintaining open channels of communication across the full range of issues to reduce the risk of misperception and miscalculation," he said. "The Secretary raised a number of issues of concern, as well as opportunities to explore cooperation on shared transnational issues with the PRC where our interests align."
Blinken "made clear that the United States will always stand up for the interests and values of the American people and work with its allies and partners to advance our vision for a world that is free, open, and upholds the international rules-based order. The Secretary and State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin also noted the importance of facilitating exchanges between the people of the United States and the PRC, he said, adding that Blinken will continue consultations with Chinese officials on June 19.
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying noted earlier on Sunday that China hopes that Blinken’s visit "can help steer China-U.S. relations back to what the two Presidents agreed upon in Bali."
Xi and Biden met on November 14, 2022 in Bali and spoke for three and a half hours. Back then, Biden pledged that his country was sticking to the policy of one China and was against changing the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. The Chinese side described the talks as constructive and expressed readiness to receive US Secretary of State Antony Blinken who planned to visit China.
Blinken is visiting China from June 18-19. His visit was initially planned for February but the visit did not take place due to the incident with a Chinese balloon, which was shot down by a US missile within the US airspace. Beijing claimed that it was a meteorological blimp but Washington insisted that the balloon had been used to collect "sensitive information."
This is the first visit by a top US diplomat to China since October 2018.