Blinken may meet President Xi at the end of his visit to Beijing

Blinken met with Chinese Foreign Minister Chen Gang for seven and a half hours Sunday, longer than planned, and both sides agreed to keep communications open to avoid future disputes.

Neither side has confirmed Blinken’s meeting with Xi, China’s most powerful ruler in decades, whose meeting with US President Joe Biden in Bali in November raised some hopes of an improvement in bilateral relations.

But some diplomats consider a meeting with Xi on Monday likely.

Blinken began his day Monday by meeting Chinese diplomat Wang Yi, who placed him in the Communist Party above the foreign minister.

Wang and Blinken smiled at the camera and exchanged pleasantries before meeting their assistants.

Tensions between the world’s two largest economies have escalated in recent years over many issues, including trade, technology and Taiwan.

Avoid conflicts

US authorities have indicated that they do not expect much progress from Blinken’s visit, although they hope to reopen normal lines of communication to prevent an incident from degenerating into conflict.

On Sunday, the two countries said Chen had accepted an offer to visit Washington soon.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Sunday’s talks, including a dinner at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, were “frank, substantive and constructive.”

Blinken stressed “the importance of diplomacy and keeping channels of communication open on all issues to reduce the risk of misunderstandings and miscalculations,” Miller added.

Behind closed doors, Chen told Blinken that US-China relations are “at the lowest point since the establishment of diplomatic relations,” according to state broadcaster CCTV.

“This is not in line with the fundamental interests of these two peoples and the common expectations of the international community,” Chen said in the interview with Blinken.

He also issued a warning about Taiwan, the island of democratic rule claimed by Beijing. China has conducted military exercises near Taiwanese territory since last August in response to what it considers Taipei’s rapprochement with US lawmakers.

“The Taiwan issue is at the core of China’s interests, the most important in Sino-US relations and the most critical,” Chen said.

A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the talks went beyond the usual topics of discussion, including Taiwan.

“This was a real conversation,” he said.

Last week Xi was conciliatory when he met Bill Gates, the US computer magnate turned philanthropist.

“You are the first American friend I met this year in Beijing,” the state-run People’s Daily quoted Xi as telling Gates.

“We have always had hope in the American people, and we look forward to continuing friendship between the peoples of the two countries,” he added.