Reuters-Chinas Wang Yi to visit Washington amid Middle East tensions US officials say
October 23, 2023 3 min 533 words
中国外长王毅即将访问华盛顿，此次访问发生在中东紧张局势升级之际，美国官员表示希望北京能够帮助缓解这一紧张局势。这次访问将在美国总统乔·拜登和中国领导人习近平预计将于11月在旧金山举行的会晤之前举行，也是继今年夏季美国国务卿布林肯等高级美国官员访问北京后期待已久的对等访问。此次访问将涵盖中美两国在贸易、台湾、南中国海等一系列问题上的分歧，华盛顿的首要任务是确保这两个世界上最大的经济体之间的激烈竞争不会演变成冲突。访问还发生在哈马斯于10月7日发动的袭击和以色列的回应成为全球头条新闻的时刻，同时俄罗斯在乌克兰的战争也在继续。美国正在向以色列和乌克兰提供军事援助，而中国自乌克兰战争开始以来与俄罗斯关系更加亲近，并呼吁以色列和哈马斯之间停火。这次访问将讨论以色列-哈马斯冲突以及俄罗斯在乌克兰的战争，美国将“敦促中国在这两个问题上采取更具建设性的立场”。另外，南中国海和东中国海的领土争端也将是访问议程的一部分，美国对中国在南中国海的“破坏性和危险性行为”深感担忧。总之，这次访问对于解决一系列国际问题以及维护全球稳定都具有重要意义。
China's top diplomat Wang Yi will travel to the United States later this week, senior Biden administration officials said on Monday, in a long-anticipated visit that comes amid soaring tensions in the Middle East, which U.S. officials hope Beijing can help contain.
Wang will visit Washington from Oct. 26-28 and meet with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and President Joe Biden's national security advisor Jake Sullivan, officials said, declining to say if he will meet with Biden as well.
The trip will be the highest-level in-person engagement ahead of an expected meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in San Francisco in November. It is also the long-awaited reciprocal visit after several top U.S. officials including Blinken visited Beijing this summer.
Washington's top priority has been to ensure the intense competition between the world's two largest economies and their disagreements over a host of issues from trade to Taiwan and the South China Sea does not veer into conflict.
"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," said one official, who briefed reporters on the trip on condition of anonymity.
The visit also comes as Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks and Israel's response dominate global headlines, even as Russia's war in Ukraine grinds on.
Washington is sending military aid to Israel and Ukraine, while Beijing has grown closer to Russia since the Ukraine war began and has called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The Israel-Hamas war and Russia's war in Ukraine would both be discussed, a second official said, adding that the U.S. would "push the Chinese to take a more constructive approach on both.”
Washington has placed importance on China's ability to influence Iran. Blinken, during his whirlwind trip last week to the Middle East, held a phone call with Wang asking him to use Beijing's clout in the region to ensure the conflict does not widen.
China has consistently called for restraint and a ceasefire in response to Israel's bombardment of Gaza following the Hamas attacks that killed 1,400 Israelis but has also sharpened its criticism of Israel.
Territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas would also be on the agenda during Wang's visit, the U.S. officials said, adding that Washington was deeply concerned by China's "destabilizing and dangerous actions" in the South China Sea.
The Philippines, a U.S. ally, on Monday accused Chinese coastguard vessels of "intentionally" colliding with its vessels on a resupply mission, in the most serious incident yet in the waters around the disputed Second Thomas shoal.
Re-establishing military-to-military ties with China remains a top U.S. priority, the officials said, adding that meant sustained communications down the ranks and that China's apparent lack of a defense minister would not be an obstacle.
Defense Minister Li Shangfu has not been seen in public for nearly two months amid a corruption probe.