Washington DC, United States: Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the highest-ranking US capital Chinese official in nearly five years, will be paying a rare visit to the United States, according to an official update.
This visit is scheduled before a potential visit by President Xi Jinping. It is aimed at keeping tensions in check. According to the official update, the minister will be visiting from Thursday, October 26, to Saturday, October 28. Minister Yi will be coming to in the midst of the backdrop of friction over trade, Ukraine, the Middle East, Taiwan and China’s assertive actions at sea near the Philippines, according to the reports by news agency AFP.
Responsibly manage competition among largest economies: US officials
Senior US officials have recently shared remarks about this meet and outlined that this latest interaction is the joint efforts by the two largest economies of the world to “responsibly manage our competition.”
He was quoted saying, “We continue to believe that direct face-to-face diplomacy is the best way to raise challenging issues, address misperception and miscommunication, and explore working with the Chinese where our interests intersect.”
Beijing’s visit confirmation
While confirming the dates of the visit, officials from Beijing, on Tuesday, confirmed the dates of the visit. The official further anticipated that this trip would put strained ties “back on track.”
The spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of China, Mao Ning, at a regular briefing, underscored, “Wang will conduct in-depth exchanges of views with US leaders on China-US relations and international and regional issues of common interest.”
She furthermore put light on one of the objectives of the meeting. Ning outlined that the top diplomat, during the meeting, “will convey principles and positions as well as legitimate concerns about China-US relations.”
According to several reports, she mentioned that through this meeting, Beijing hopes that the relationship between China and Washington will improve. “It will strengthen communication and dialogue, expand practical cooperation, properly manage differences, and jointly push China-US relations back on (the) track of healthy and stable development,” she was quoted saying, according to AFP.
Wang will visit Beijing following Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to China in June. During Blinken’s visit, he met with top Chinese leaders, including Xi, for 11 hours. Now, Wang is hoping for a similar meeting with President Joe Biden, who is in Washington this week.
In the past, Joe Biden met Chinese President Xi during the sidelines of the G20 talks in November in Bali. At that time, Biden invited Xi to meet him during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, which will be hosted by the administration of the United States in San Francisco.
Will the current visit by Wang Yi will formalize a visit by Xi?
When asked about the current visit by Wang Yi will formalize a visit by Xi, another US official outlined that US President has anticipated many times to meet the Chinese President in the near future and declined to comment any further.
It is worth noting that both countries have been showing some interest in avoiding conflict. Earlier this month, President Xi met Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and mentioned that the relationship between these two nations will determine the future and destiny of mankind.
However, the reality was quite different as the tension between China and the USA has not stopped such as China has been blamed for carrying out various military exercises near Taiwan, the US-backed democracy claimed by Beijing.
On Monday, a similar claim was shared by the Philippines, a US ally. The nation accused China of deliberately hitting its boats on a resupply mission in contested waters. However, this claim was rejected by Beijing as “false information.”
Following this, Biden’s security advisor, Jake Sullivan, called the Philippine counterpart to express support following China’s “unsafe and illegal actions.” Sullivan will also have a meeting with Wang in Washington, officials mentioned.