US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken stressed the importance of maintaining open lines of communication between the US and China to reduce the risk of miscalculation during talks with China’s foreign minister in Beijing on Sunday, with the two agreeing to meet again only this time in Washington, Reuters and EFE.

Blinken, the first US secretary of state to visit China in five years, had “frank, meaningful and constructive discussions” with Foreign Minister Qin Gang of the People’s Republic of China, a State Department spokesman said.

Before the talks, US officials saw little chance of success given the long list of differences between the world’s two largest economies, from trade and US efforts to curb China’s semiconductor industry to Taiwan’s autonomous status and China’s human rights record.

“The secretary of state has emphasized the importance of diplomacy and maintaining open channels of communication at all levels on the full range of issues to reduce the risk of misperception or miscalculation,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said after the ongoing discussions. more than five hours.

Anthony Blinken “discussed a range of topics of concern to us as well as opportunities to explore common transnational issues with the PRC where interests overlap,” Miller added in a statement.

He said Blinken invited Qin to visit Washington “to continue discussions, and they agreed to schedule a joint visit at a mutually convenient time.”

“The Secretary of State stated that the United States will always protect the interests and values ​​of the American people and work with our partners and allies to advance the vision of a free world that supports a rules-based international order,” Miller emphasized.

Blinken arrived in Beijing on Sunday for a two-day visit aimed at smoothing differences between the United States and China after months of tension over the situation in Taiwan, the war in Ukraine and a trade battle between the two nations.

The Beijing meeting between Qin and Blinken ended at around 8:00 p.m. local time (12:00 GMT) after five and a half hours, Chinese state media reported.

Anthony Blinken, who postponed his trip to China in February after an alleged Chinese spy balloon flew over US airspace, is the highest-ranking US government official to visit Beijing since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021. (Agerpres)