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Xi says he hopes Blinken will make 'positive contributions' to China-US relations
Xi was speaking as he met Blinken on Monday, the second day of the top US diplomat's visit to Beijing.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, June 19, 2023.
(Reuters/Leah Millis)
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hina's President Xi Jinping said on Monday he hoped that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken would make "more positive contributions" to stabilising China-US ties through his visit to Beijing, according to a video posted by state media CCTV.
Xi was speaking as he met Blinken on Monday, the second day of the top US diplomat's visit to Beijing.
Xi hosted Blinken for talks in Beijing on Monday, capping two days of high-level talks by the US secretary of state with Chinese officials.
Blinken's was the highest-level visit by a US official to China in nearly five years marked by severely strained ties between the world's two largest economies.
US officials have said they hope the visit will bring more stability, if not breakthroughs, between Washington and Beijing.
Xi, China's most powerful leader in decades, met Blinken around 4:30 pm (0830 GMT) on Monday, Chinese state media said.
The meeting came after Blinken held more than 10 hours of talks over two days with other top officials.
At the ornate Diaoyutai State Guesthouse earlier Monday, Blinken and China's foreign policy supremo Wang Yi offered polite smiles before talks with their aides, who unlike their bosses wore masks in line with lingering Covid-19 protocols.
Away from the cameras, Wang told Blinken that his trip "comes at a critical juncture in China-US relations", according to state broadcaster CCTV.
"It is necessary to make a choice between dialogue and confrontation, cooperation or conflict," he said.
"We must reverse the downward spiral of China-US relations, push for a return to a healthy and stable track, and work together to find a correct way for China and the United States to get along," Wang added.
