secretary of state antony blinken He is scheduled to visit China next week as the Biden administration seeks to ensure U.S.-China ties remain strong as the U.S. expresses strong concerns about China's support for Russia.
This will be Blinken's second visit to the country as the top US diplomat. His remarks came after U.S.-China relations became extremely tense last year after a U.S. fighter jet shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon that was detected over sensitive U.S. military facilities. The visit was aimed at “stabilizing” relations.
President Joe Biden He spoke with President Xi by phone earlier this month, the first summit between the two leaders since their historic face-to-face meeting in November.
“We are in a different situation than we were a year ago, when relations between our countries were at their lowest point in history,” a senior State Department official said.
The official said Blinken will meet with Chinese officials in both Shanghai and Beijing during his April 24-26 visit.
The official said Blinken had “three main objectives for his visit to China.”
“First, to make progress on important issues; second, to clearly and directly communicate concerns on bilateral regional and global issues; and third, to responsibly manage competition.” That's the case,” the official said.
Blinken will reiterate his deep concerns about “China's support for Russia's defense industrial base,” human rights abuses and “unfair economic and trade practices,” the official said.
Blinken is also scheduled to discuss the situation in the Middle East. Amid rising tensions with Israel, the United States has repeatedly called on China publicly and privately to demand restraint from Iran.
“And, of course, he will also discuss challenges in the Indo-Pacific, including China's provocations in the South China Sea,” and North Korea's “threatening statements and reckless actions,” the official said. “We will also reaffirm the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” Blinken continued.
During a visit to China last June, Blinken met with senior government officials, including President Xi Jinping, in Beijing. U.S. officials characterized the visit as an effort to resume normal lines of communication with China to avoid conflict between the world's two superpowers.
Blinken also met with China's top diplomat Wang Yi in July, which the US side described as a “frank and constructive” conversation.
This call comes amid global upheaval. The ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine, as well as North Korea's nuclear capabilities, were topics of discussion.
They also spoke about issues that are straining U.S.-China relations, including Taiwan, China's recent provocations in the South China Sea, and Beijing's human rights abuses.
CNN's Nectar Gunn, MJ Lee and Donald Judd contributed to this report.
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