Antony Blinken discusses US-China ties with incoming Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang
- The US secretary of State says he talked about maintaining open lines of communication during a phone call with his new counterpart
- Qin, China’s ambassador to the US and a trusted aide to Xi Jinping, was appointed to his new role as Beijing and Washington seek to stabilise rocky relations
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Beijing’s ambassador to Washington Qin Gang before the Chinese diplomat’s departure from the US to take up his new post as foreign minister.
Just days after Beijing confirmed Qin’s elevation, Blinken said that he discussed the US-China relationship and “maintaining open lines of communication” in his phone call with Qin.
Shortly afterwards, the outgoing ambassador posted on Twitter that he looked forward to “continuing close working relations with him for a better China-US relationship”.
Washington’s top envoy confirmed last month that he plans to visit China in January or February, after an agreement between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden at the G20 summit in Indonesia in November.
Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Rick Waters and National Security Council Senior Director for China and Taiwan Laura Rosenberger have been in regular contact with their Chinese counterparts since G20 to prepare for the trip, according to two sources familiar with the situation.
Discussions over how to approach the topic of human rights during the visit is at least one of the subjects that the two sides are wrestling with, they said.