Chinese King Visiting the US... Meeting Blinken Today to Coordinate Summit Talks

The top diplomats of the United States and China will meet on the 26th (local time) in Washington DC to coordinate a summit between President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

According to the U.S. State Department, Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister of China, who is visiting the United States, is scheduled to hold talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken from 5 p.m. and then attend a working dinner.

Wang's visit to the U.S. is a reciprocal visit following Secretary Blinken's trip to China in June. Relations between the two countries, which had cooled due to the Chinese surveillance balloon incident earlier this year, resumed dialogue as high-level U.S. officials visited China one after another starting with Secretary Blinken last summer. Secretary Blinken had requested a reciprocal visit from then-Foreign Minister Qin Gang, but with the change in foreign ministers, Wang Yi is now visiting the United States.

During the talks, both sides are expected to coordinate specific schedules and agendas regarding the summit, which is the main agenda item. President Biden and President Xi are likely to hold a face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be held in San Francisco from November 11 to 17 next month. This would be their first in-person meeting in a year since November last year. President Biden said in a White House briefing earlier this month that there is a "possibility" of meeting with President Xi.

Additionally, global issues such as the war between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas, and the prolonged war in Ukraine are expected to be discussed at this meeting. During his Middle East tour earlier this month, Secretary Blinken requested Wang to urge China to play a role in preventing Iran from directly intervening in the current war. On the other hand, China is expected to emphasize the need for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the White House National Security Council (NSC), stated at a briefing that the U.S. side plans to urge Wang to act in ways that help resolve the Middle East situation during their talks. Kirby said, "China can talk to places like Iran, with whom we cannot engage in dialogue," adding, "It would be irresponsible not to discuss this issue with China and understand China's thoughts and perspectives."

Furthermore, discussions are expected to cover U.S. export controls on China, including in the semiconductor sector, China's export controls on strategic minerals, as well as issues related to Taiwan and North Korea. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a briefing that "the North Korea issue will be on the agenda." He also mentioned North Korea-Russia arms transactions, stating, "Our assessment that we have witnessed the flow of weapons between Russia and North Korea has not changed," and added, "We believe this is a violation of UN Security Council resolutions."

Local media are also paying attention to the possibility that Wang may meet with President Biden during this visit. Previously, Secretary Blinken also visited President Xi during his visit to Beijing in June.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.