Reuters-Biden meets Wang as US-China gear up towards expected leaders summit
October 27, 2023 3 min 622 words
这篇报道关于美国总统拜登与中国外交部长王毅的会面以及两国为即将到来的领导人峰会做准备的情况。这次会面被白宫描述为保持两个地缘政治竞争对手之间沟通渠道的良好机会。拜登仍然希望在不久的将来与习近平会面，但尚不能确定两位总统是否会在下个月的亚太经济合作组织（APEC）峰会期间在旧金山举行会晤。 这次会面发生在拜登政府时代首次中国外交部长访问华盛顿之际，旨在处理两国之间的分歧并为11月份预计的拜登与习近平峰会奠定基础。双方强调了需要进行深入和全面的对话以减少误解和稳定关系。 这篇报道还提到了近几个月来的一系列双边外交活动，主要是应美国的要求，旨在挽救因美国击落中国所谓的间谍气球而在年初急剧恶化的关系。尽管双方都谈到寻找可以合作的领域，但专家并不指望立即取得进展。 这次会面还触及了中美在中东问题上的关切，尤其是以色列-哈马斯冲突，华盛顿希望北京能够利用其在伊朗的影响力来阻止中东冲突升级为更大规模的战争。会谈还涉及了南中国海问题，这是中美之间有争议的水域，中国和菲律宾曾多次发生高调对峙。报道中提到，北京表示华盛顿无权介入南中国海问题。 总的来说，这次会面表明中美关系依然充满挑战，但双方都希望通过对话来解决分歧，同时寻找合作的领域。这将是一个需要密切关注的重要外交发展。
U.S. President Joe Biden met China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday, holding an hour of talks that the White House characterized as a "good opportunity" in keeping lines of communication open between the two geopolitical rivals.
Wang earlier held a second day of meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken as the two countries seek to manage differences while laying groundwork for an expected summit between Biden and his counterpart Xi Jinping in November.
Biden still hopes to see Xi in the near future, White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters, but could not say whether an agreement was struck for the two presidents to meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit next month in San Francisco.
China has yet to announce whether Xi will attend.
"The president has said that he fully expects to meet again with President Xi. These are two guys that have a long-standing relationship and we're confident that that's going to happen," Kirby said.
"In his view, this was a positive development and a good opportunity to keep the conversation going," Kirby said of Biden's meeting with Wang, which Blinken and U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also attended.
Wang arrived at the State Department late on Thursday - the first visit by a Chinese foreign minister to Washington during the Biden administration - and held a meeting with Blinken followed by a dinner. Sullivan was due to meet Wang separately on Friday afternoon.
On Thursday, Wang told Blinken that the two countries have disagreements and need "in-depth" and "comprehensive" dialogue to reduce misunderstandings and stabilize ties. "Not only should we resume dialogue, the dialogue should be in-depth and comprehensive," Wang said.
Wang's three-day visit follows a flurry of bilateral diplomatic engagements in recent months, largely at U.S. request, aimed at salvaging what were rapidly deteriorating ties early in the year following the U.S. downing of an alleged Chinese spy balloon.
The U.S. sought to prevent relations, severely strained by intense economic competition and disagreements on a host of issues - including trade, Taiwan, human rights and the South China Sea - from veering into conflict.
But some in Washington have questioned whether a slate of mostly unreciprocated U.S. Cabinet-level official visits to Beijing over the past six months, including by Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, played into Beijing's hand.
The trips by Yellen and Raimondo led to new bilateral economic and commercial working groups, which critics worry will only pull U.S. focus away from - and possibly delay - sanctions, export controls and broader measures intended to enhance U.S. competition with China.
The Israel-Hamas conflict has added a fresh dynamic to the testy relationship between 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.
Kirby said events in the Middle East were on the agenda in talks with Wang. He said the U.S. also raised concerns about the South China Sea, disputed waters where China and the Philippines have had several high-profile confrontations. Beijing says Washington has no right to get involved.
However, while both Beijing and Washington have spoken about looking for areas where they can work together, and Xi said on Wednesday that China was willing to cooperate on global challenges, experts do not expect immediate progress.