BEIJING (Reuters) – China welcomes the visit of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to the country, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman told a regular press briefing on Tuesday.
“China welcomes Foreign Minister Blinken’s visit to China. China and the United States are now communicating on specific arrangements,” Wang Wenbin said in response to a question about a US media report that Blinken will visit China on Feb. 5.
“(China) also hopes the United States will adopt a correct view of China, uphold dialogue rather than confrontation, and win-win instead of zero-sum (thinking),” Wang added.
Politico reported Blinken will meet in Beijing with his counterpart, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, on February 5-6.
Blinken’s visit to China in February will be the first by a secretary of state since October 2018 when, under the Trump administration, Mike Pompeo met then-Secretary of State Wang Yi in Beijing, with the two leaders exchanging candid remarks amid the escalating trade war.
China’s confirmation of the visit followed a meeting in November between US and Chinese heads of state Joe Biden and Xi Jinping during the G20 summit on the Indonesian island of Bali.
The two leaders vowed to have more frequent contacts at a time of intensifying differences over Taiwan, human rights, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and economic issues.
The two leaders agreed that Blinken would visit China to follow up on their discussions, according to the White House, though no specific date was given at the time.
Last month, a delegation of senior US officials held talks with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng in Langfang, a city neighboring Beijing, in order to discuss Blinken’s visit, according to the US State Department.
Reporting from the Beijing Newsroom; By Bernard Orr; Edited by Tom Hogg
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