Ahead of his planned visit to China to cool down tensions, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Wednesday spoke to his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang by phone during which they discussed the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to responsibly manage the relationship to avoid “miscalculation and conflict”. Blinken, who will travel to China this week, said he discussed with Qin efforts by the two countries to maintain open channels of communication between two countries on bilateral and global issues.
“Spoke tonight with PRC State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang by phone. Discussed ongoing efforts to maintain open channels of communication as well as bilateral and global issues,” Blinken said in a tweet.
His planned visit in February was cancelled after the US shot down a Chinese spy balloon flying over its airspace. On Wednesday, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement that Secretary Blinken “discussed the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to responsibly manage the US-PRC relationship to avoid miscalculation and conflict, [and] addressed a range of bilateral and global issues”. He said Blinken also made clear that the US would continue to use diplomatic engagements to raise areas of concern as well as areas of potential cooperation.
Blinken’s trip from June 16 to 21 would also involve London along with Beijing, he said.
Miller said Secretary Blinken will meet with senior Chinese officials in Beijing. Blinken will also raise bilateral issues of concern, global and regional matters, and potential cooperation on shared transnational challenges, he said.
London, the Secretary will attend the Ukraine Recovery Conference to help mobilize international support from the public and private sector to help Ukraine recover from Russia’s brutal and ongoing attacks.