Act Daily News
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is predicted to journey to China in early February for continued discussions associated to one in all America’s most complex and consequential relationships.
A US official stated the State Department is eyeing February 6 for Blinken’s conferences in Beijing, which comply with up on President Joe Biden’s assembly with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bali late final yr.
“On China, as you know, President Biden, President Xi had a very open, candid conversation during the last G20 meeting in Bali, and they spoke about our intentions,” Blinken stated at a press convention in Washington, DC, final week. “President Biden shared our intentions and our priorities, and we got some sense of that from President Xi as well.”
“These lines of communication, starting with the presidents but also including many of us, are vitally important,” the highest US diplomat stated.
“I will have an opportunity to travel to China in the coming weeks to follow up on the President’s discussions precisely to move forward on those lines of communication between us,” he stated.
The top-level conferences come amid continued strained relations between Beijing and Washington. Tensions dramatically escalated following former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s go to to Taiwan final yr.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin stated on Tuesday that China and the US are “in communication on the specific itinerary.”
“China welcomes Secretary Blinken’s visit to China. We are in communication with the US on the specific itinerary,” Wang stated throughout an everyday press briefing.
“We hope the US will walk with China in the same direction, and implement the consensus reached by leaders of both of our countries precisely, so that ties between our countries can resume the healthy and stable course of development,” Wang stated.
Wang didn’t point out further particulars concerning the go to.