Reuters-Chinas Wang tells Blinken in-depth dialogue can steady ties
October 27, 2023 4 min 841 words
这则报道强调了中国外交部长王毅在与美国国务卿布林肯的会面中提出的“深入”和“全面”对话，以减少误解并稳定两国关系。这是一种积极的信号，表明中美之间仍存在共同利益和挑战，需要通过对话来解决。不仅要恢复对话，还要确保对话深入和全面，这是非常重要的。 在美国和中国之间存在的分歧，尤其是在贸易、台湾和南中国海等问题上，一直备受关注。这次会面为预计将于11月举行的拜登总统和习近平主席的峰会做了准备。双方都希望通过外交努力避免冲突，但在一些问题上的分歧可能需要更多时间来解决。 此外，文章提到了以色列和哈马斯冲突对中美关系的影响，以及美国希望中国能在伊朗问题上发挥影响力，以防止中东局势升级。这显示出中美关系的复杂性，以及双方在处理国际事务中的互动。 总的来说，这篇报道突出了对话和外交努力的重要性，以稳定和改善中美关系，但也提醒我们，解决分歧可能需要更多时间和努力。
The United States and China have disagreements and need "in-depth" and "comprehensive" dialogue to reduce misunderstandings and stabilize ties, China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, said on Thursday, kicking off a long-anticipated visit to Washington.
Standing next to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Wang said the two countries share important common interests and challenges that they need to resolve together.
"Therefore, China and the United States need to have dialogue. Not only should we resume dialogue, the dialogue should be in-depth and comprehensive," Wang said, speaking through an interpreter.
Dialogue would help reduce misunderstandings, help stabilize the relationship and "return it to the track of healthy, stable and sustainable development," he said.
Blinken responded: "I agree with what the foreign minister said."
Before Wang spoke, Blinken had said he looked forward to constructive talks with his Chinese counterpart. During the meeting, Blinken expressed his condolences on the passing of China's former premier, Li Keqiang.
Wang's three-day visit is the latest in a flurry of diplomatic engagements between the two strategic rivals as they seek to manage their differences to avoid conflict. The trip primarily is to prepare for an expected summit between President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping in November.
Blinken and Wang will continue their discussions on Friday.
The Israel-Hamas conflict has added a fresh dynamic to the testy relationship of the superpowers, and Washington is hoping Beijing can use its influence with Iran to prevent an escalation into a wider war in the Middle East.
Wang is expected to meet U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Friday. He is also expected to speak with Biden during his visit to the White House, although it is unclear how substantial their interaction will be.
The Biden administration's priority with Beijing has been to prevent intense competition between the two largest economies and disagreements on a host of issues - including trade, Taiwan and the South China Sea - from veering into conflict.
However, while both Beijing and Washington have spoken of looking for areas where they can work together, and Xi said on Wednesday China was willing to cooperate on global challenges, experts do not expect immediate progress.
Policy analysts in China and the U.S. say both sides share an interest in averting a wider war in the Middle East and that China, as a major oil purchaser, could exert considerable influence on Iran. Whether it will remains to be seen.
"The Chinese certainly have an interest in preventing a direct U.S.-Iranian confrontation, as they are major oil consumers and that would spike prices," said Jon Alterman, head of the Middle East program at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"Still, the Chinese are unlikely to do any heavy lifting here. I expect they'll want a seat at the table when the Israel-Gaza struggle gets resolved, but they don't feel much need or ability to hasten resolution."
Shi Yinhong, professor of international relations at Renmin University of China, said Beijing exerting its influence over Iran was "almost the only serious and practical U.S. expectation of China on the Middle East situation."
However Shi added: "The U.S. position on Iran is far from acceptable to China and vice versa. Mutual compromise on this issue could be too limited and small to be of any significance."
Wang's visit to Washington comes after several top U.S. officials, including Blinken, visited Beijing in the past several months.
Analysts expect Wang's talks to focus on preparations for an anticipated meeting between Biden and Xi on the sidelines of the summit of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries in San Francisco from Nov. 11 to 17. It would be Biden and Xi's first in-person meeting since a summit in Bali last November.
The two sides go into APEC from different economic perspectives, with economic policy analysts saying the U.S. has weathered challenging global conditions after the COVID-19 pandemic somewhat better than China.
U.S. and Chinese officials held a virtual meeting on Monday on macroeconomic developments.
U.S. officials said Taiwan and the South and East China Seas, where they accused Beijing of "destabilizing and dangerous actions" against rival territorial claimants, would also be on the agenda. Re-establishing military-to-military ties with China remains a top priority to avoid unintended conflict, they said.