Han Zheng, Blinken call for stable China-US ties
Vice president Han Zheng and America's top diplomat both voiced hope on Monday for more stability in the often tense relationship as the rival powers held their second high-level talks in days. Han met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the latest in a series of meetings aimed at reducing tensions between the world's two largest economies. Xinhua News Agency reported that Han said he hoped the United States and China will meet each other halfway, and implement the consensus reached by the two countries' leaders and promote the stable development of relations. He expressed hopes that both sides would take practical actions, create favorable conditions and do more to enhance understanding, mutual trust and mutually beneficial cooperation, so as to push China-US relations back to a healthy and stable track and benefit both countries as well as the world. China’s development is an opportunity rather than a challenge, a gain rather than a risk to the United States, Han added. In a statement after the meeting, the US State Department said the talks involved "a candid and constructive discussion." The two agreed to maintain open lines of communication and discussed Russia's war with Ukraine, North Korea and the Taiwan Strait, the department added. The talks between Han and Blinken could help set the stage for a meeting between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden later this year. They followed 12 hours of meetings last weekend between White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Malta. "The world expects us to responsibly manage our relationship," Blinken said in brief remarks at the beginning of his meeting with Han. "The United States is committed to doing just that," he added. "From the perspective of the United States, face-to-face diplomacy is the best way to deal with areas where we disagree, and also the best way to explore areas of cooperation between us," Blinken said. Blinken, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Biden climate envoy John Kerry have traveled to China this year to thaw relations. But Biden this month expressed disappointment that Xi had skipped a summit of Group of 20 leaders in India, though he added that he would "get to see him." The next likely opportunity for Biden to hold talks with Xi is an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco in November, where US aides for months have hoped to stage such a meeting. Neither Han nor Blinken in their remarks explicitly mentioned whether such a meeting would materialise. (Agencies)