Blinken touches down in Beijing for two-day visit
Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in China on Sunday on the highest-level trip by a US official in nearly five years. Speaking in the US capital before his departure, Blinken said he would seek to "responsibly manage our relationship" by finding ways to avoid "miscalculations" between the countries. "Intense competition requires sustained diplomacy to ensure that competition does not veer into confrontation or conflict," he said. Ahead of Blinken's visit, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the United States needed to "respect China's core concerns" and work together with Beijing.  "The US needs to give up the illusion of dealing with China 'from a position of strength'. China and the US must develop relations on the basis of mutual respect and equality, respect their difference in history, culture, social system and development path," he said.  Blinken plans to meet with Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Sunday, top diplomat Wang Yi, and possibly President Xi Jinping on Monday, according to US officials.  Xi offered a hint of a possible willingness to reduce tensions on Friday, saying in a meeting with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates that the United States and China can cooperate to “benefit our two countries." “I believe that the foundation of Sino-US relations lies in the people,” Xi told Gates. “Under the current world situation, we can carry out various activities that benefit our two countries, the people of our countries, and the entire human race.” US President Joe Biden told White House reporters Saturday that he hoped that "over the next several months, I'll be meeting with Xi again and talking about legitimate differences we have, but also how ... to get along.” Chances for such a meeting could come at a Group of 20 leaders' gathering in September in New Delhi and at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November in San Francisco that the United States is hosting. (AFP/AP)