China’s overseas minister, Qin Gang, met with the American ambassador to China in Beijing on Monday in a doable trace at a thaw in relations between the 2 powers after months of rising rigidity.
Mr. Qin instructed the ambassador, Nicholas Burns, {that a} “high precedence” was to stabilize relations, “keep away from a downward spiral, and stop accidents between China and the USA,” in accordance with China’s official readout of the assembly.
The assembly marked one of many highest-level engagements between American and Chinese language officers since relations soured in February following the looks, and subsequent downing, of a high-altitude Chinese language balloon over the continental United States. The Pentagon mentioned China had used the balloon for spying; Beijing has insisted that the balloon was a civilian airship that had been blown off beam, and has accused the USA of overreacting.
Relations deteriorated additional after Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken publicly warned in February that China is likely to be making ready to offer weapons and ammunition to Russia for its warfare on Ukraine, a declare that Beijing dismissed as pretend information.
Within the three months since, China has ramped up a marketing campaign of anti-American rhetoric and tried to drive a wedge between the USA and Europe, which is split over how intently to align with Washington’s extra hawkish insurance policies towards Beijing.
In Mr. Qin’s assembly with Mr. Burns, the Chinese language official accused Washington of derailing progress within the relationship following the assembly of President Biden and China’s high chief, Xi Jinping, in November in Bali, Indonesia. Mr. Qin blamed “a collection of inaccurate phrases and deeds” by the USA for undermining “the hard-won optimistic momentum of Sino-U.S. relations,” in accordance with the Chinese language readout.
Mr. Qin mentioned he hoped the Biden administration might “replicate deeply” and push the connection “again on observe.” To do this, Washington wanted to respect “China’s backside line” on points comparable to Taiwan, the self-governing island claimed by Beijing. Mr. Qin mentioned the USA was “supporting and condoning ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces.”
China reacted angrily to a go to final month by President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan to the USA. Ms. Tsai met with Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the Home of Representatives, in what was the highest-level in-person gathering for a frontrunner of Taiwan in the USA since Beijing established relations with Washington in 1979.
In a post on Twitter, Mr. Burns mentioned he and Mr. Qin “mentioned challenges within the U.S.-China relationship and the need of stabilizing ties and increasing high-level communication.”
The assembly between Mr. Qin and Mr. Burns comes after months of failed efforts by the USA to re-engage with China, and it follows current expressions of optimism by Mr. Blinken that he might be able to reschedule a go to to Beijing that Washington had known as off after the balloon incident.
At a digital occasion final week, Mr. Burns mentioned the USA and China wanted “deeper channels” of communication and that Washington was “prepared to speak.”
Whereas China had largely frozen high-level contacts with the USA, Mr. Xi has been working to shore up ties with American allies and burnish his picture as a worldwide statesman. He has labored to revive ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, hosted President Emmanuel Macron of France and known as President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. China additionally introduced on Monday that Mr. Qin would go to Germany, France and Norway this week.
“It’s a optimistic signal they met,” mentioned Paul Haenle, a former director for China on the Nationwide Safety Council in each the Bush and Obama administrations.
Mr. Haenle mentioned the assembly with Mr. Burns will profit Mr. Qin when he travels to Europe, the place there have been requires China and the USA to chill tensions between them.