Blinken talks with Chinese foreign minister ahead of possible visit to Beijing

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang shared concerns during a phone conversation Wednesday ahead of the US official’s possible visit to China to discuss to shore up bilateral relations.

“I spoke tonight by phone with the State Councilor and Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China, Qin Gang,” said a message posted on Blinken’s official Twitter account. “We discussed efforts underway to keep communication channels open, as well as bilateral and global issues.”

For its part, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on one of its social media profiles that Qin urged the United States to respect “China’s core concerns,” such as Taiwan’s self-government issue, to “stop interfering in China’s internal affairs and to stop harming China’s sovereignty, security and development interests in the name of competition.”

Qin stressed that the relationship between Beijing and Washington has “encountered new difficulties and challenges” since the beginning of the year, and both sides are responsible for working together to properly manage differences, promote exchanges and cooperation, and stabilize ties.

Blinken reportedly planning to travel to China this week, after weeks of mutual diplomatic overtures in an attempt to ease tensions. The official canceled a trip to Beijing in February after an alleged Chinese spy balloon flew over US territory.

Since then, China has largely rejected US attempts to conduct official exchanges, although some progress has been made. Last week, Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, was the highest-ranking US official to visit China since the shooting down of the balloon.

In May, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo met with her counterpart, Wang Wentao, in Washington to discuss trade.