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China’s Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, met with the American ambassador to China in Beijing on Friday in a possible hint of a thaw in relations between the two powers after months of much tension.
Mr. Qin told the ambassador, Nicholas Burns, that the “top priority” is to stabilize relations, “prevent the downward spiral, and prevent accidents between China and the United States,” according to China’s official reading of the meeting.
The meeting was one of the highest-level engagements between American and Chinese officials since relations soured in February following the appearance, and subsequent descent, of a Chinese balloon high above the continental United States. Pentagon says China has used balloons for spying; Beijing insisted that the balloon was a blown-up civilian airship, and accused the United States of overreacting.
Relations deteriorated further after Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken publicly warned in February that China could prepare to provide arms and ammunition to Russia for its war in Ukraine, a statement that Beijing dismissed as fake news.
In the three months since then, China has ramped up its anti-American rhetoric campaign and is trying to drive a wedge between the United States and Europe, which is divided on how closely to align with Washington’s more hawkish policy towards Beijing.
In Mr. Qin’s meeting with Mr. Burns, Chinese officials accused Washington of interfering with the progress of relations after President Biden’s meeting with China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, in November in Bali, Indonesia. Mr. Qin blamed “a series of wrong words and actions” by the United States for undermining the “hard-won positive momentum of Sino-US relations,” according to a Chinese reading.
Mr Qin said he hoped the Biden administration would “think deeply” and push the relationship “back on track.” To do this, Washington must respect China’s “bottom line” on issues such as Taiwan, an independent island claimed by Beijing. Mr. Qin said the United States “supports and allows ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces.”
China reacted angrily to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to the United States last month. Mrs. Tsai met with Kevin McCarthy, chairman of the House of Representatives, in the highest-level private meeting for a Taiwanese leader in the United States since Beijing established ties with Washington in 1979.
At post on TwitterMr. Burns said he and Mr. Qin “discussed the challenges in US-China relations and the need to stabilize relations and develop high-level communication.”
The meeting between Mr Qin and Mr Burns comes after months of failed attempts by the United States to re-engage with China, and follows fresh expressions of optimism by Mr Blinken that he can reschedule his visit to Beijing. Washington has come to a standstill after the balloon incident.
In a virtual event last week, Mr Burns said the United States and China needed “deeper channels” of communication and that Washington was “ready to talk.”
While China has largely frozen high-level contacts with the United States, Mr. Xi has worked to strengthen ties with American allies and burnish his image as a global statesman. He has worked to restore relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, hosted President Emmanuel Macron of France and called President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. China also announced on Monday that Mr Qin will visit Germany, France and Norway this week.
“It’s a positive sign that they’re meeting,” said Paul Haenle, former China director at the National Security Council in the Bush and Obama administrations.
Mr. Haenle said the meeting with Mr. Burns would benefit Mr. Qin as he travels to Europe, where there have been calls for China and the United States to ease tensions between them.
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