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Top US, Chinese Diplomats' Phone Call Could Serve as 'Precondition for Future Dialogue'

© AFP 2023 / JEWEL SAMAD(FILES) In this file photo taken on January 17, 2011, a Secret Service agent guards his post on the roof of the White House as a lamp post is adorned with Chinese and US national flags in Washington, DC
(FILES) In this file photo taken on January 17, 2011, a Secret Service agent guards his post on the roof of the White House as a lamp post is adorned with Chinese and US national flags in Washington, DC - Sputnik International, 1920, 14.06.2023
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Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang held a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on June 14, a Chinese national broadcaster revealed. The conversation occurred ahead of a reported visit by the top American official to the country.
According to the report, during the conversation, the Chinese top diplomat highlighted that China-US relations have faced new difficulties and challenges this year, and “whose responsibility (for this) is clear”. He also stressed that the American side should show respect, refrain from meddling in China's internal affairs, and stop undermining Beijing's sovereign interests in security and development under the pretext of competition.
Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University of China, noted that there has been a shift in the bipartisan consensus in the United States regarding pressure on China.
“Business circles in the United States consider the Chinese market to be very important and call for the economy not to be ‘held hostage’ by politics. They advocate adhering to normal principles of economic development and market principles, and avoiding the formulation of an Indo-Pacific strategy or any other form of ideologization,” the expert said.
Moreover, there is still a year to go until the presidential elections in the United States, and Trump, who has already declared that he will immediately stop the conflict between Russia and Ukraine if he wins, could be Biden's potential rival.
According to Wang Yiwei, Biden is currently facing two main points of pressure.
“First, the need to seek China's support on the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, hoping that China can play an active role. Second, there is the issue of the US economy and the national debt”.
Although the debt ceiling has been raised, the problem is far from being solved, and the United States hopes that China will continue to buy US Treasury bonds. In fact, the economic chaos in the United States is closely related to the disruption of production chains, to which they themselves have contributed, and this has also led to tremendous pressure from American business circles.
Against this backdrop, there are hopes in the United States for closer relations with China. However, the American media recently published fake news claiming that "China is building a surveillance base in Cuba (to spy on the US)".
“Considering that Blinken's previous visit to China was postponed due to the balloon incident, this phone call could become a precondition for future dialogue in order to prevent further ruptures in contacts,” Wang Yiwei noted.
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Everyone knows that the discussion on climate change, which was the only issue that China and the United States could discuss, has also been suspended. But there is still hope that the two parties can still initiate a dialogue.
“The G20 and APEC summits will be held in September and November this year, respectively, and I believe that contacts between China and the United States on various multilateral platforms are still necessary," he concluded.
Earlier, several US media outlets reported that Blinken was planning to make his delayed trip to China in the coming days, with an unnamed US official giving June 18 as the tentative date of his arrival in Beijing. The Chinese Foreign Ministry, however, has not confirmed these reports.
If Blinken’s trip goes ahead, it will be the first one for a top US diplomat since 2018. Blinken canceled the February trip after the United States accused China of sending spy balloons into US airspace. Beijing has since denied the allegations.
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