World

China, U.S. talks in Beijing strike upbeat tone but risks remain

2023.06.05 21:57


© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: U.S. and Chinese flags are seen in this illustration taken, January 30, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

By Laurie Chen and Ryan Woo

BEIJING (Reuters) – Meetings between senior U.S. and Chinese officials in China this week struck an upbeat chord, with both sides agreeing to maintain communication lines, even as Beijing remains leery of more “provocative” U.S. moves and open clashes are still a risk.

Statements from Washington and Beijing on meetings between Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Chinese officials including Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu were positive, describing the talks as candid and productive.

Just before Kritenbrink arrived in Beijing on Sunday, the U.S. navy reported an “unsafe interaction” on Saturday when a Chinese warship crossed in front of a U.S. destroyer in the sensitive Taiwan Strait, raising the prospect of future face-offs that could spiral out of control.

Kritenbrink’s visit also followed China’s apparent snub last week of U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who had sought a formal meeting with his Chinese counterpart but was bluntly rejected.

“The two sides conducted candid, constructive and fruitful communication on promoting the improvement of Sino-U.S. relations and properly managing and controlling differences,” the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday of Kritenbrink’s meetings.

Both sides also agreed to continue to communicate, according to the statement.

“The two sides had candid and productive discussions as part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication and build on recent high-level diplomacy between the two countries,” the U.S. State Department said late Monday.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has pushed to boost engagement with China as ties between the world’s two largest economies have deteriorated over issues ranging from democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own, to military activity in the South China Sea.

But critics have questioned U.S. overtures to China, arguing that past decades of engagement have failed to change Beijing’s behaviour.

The recent interactions between China and the United States showed both sides are trying to manage disputes, but the risk of clashes will still rise if Washington does not cease its provocations and if it does not show sincerity in improving relations, state-backed Chinese newspaper Global Times reported late Monday.

China and U.S. ties have entered a “more complicated” phase – while China is willing to stabilise relations and is open to possible cooperation, it will also firmly fight back against the U.S. provocations, wrote Global Times, known for its nationalist leanings.

“We’re working hard to manage the relationship as best as we possibly can,” said Kritenbrink, when asked by reporters in Beijing on Tuesday about the current state of bilateral ties.

Source link

Related Articles

Back to top button
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 68,579.37 0.68%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 2,426.21 1.89%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 0.999458 0.15%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 558.36 0.38%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 160.25 1.17%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 1.00 0.04%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 0.508144 0.48%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.165879 9.60%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 2,425.23 1.90%
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.162559 1.66%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.329953 0.68%
the-open-network
Toncoin (TON) $ 4.60 5.67%
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000017 3.34%
wrapped-steth
Wrapped stETH (WSTETH) $ 2,866.95 1.96%
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 68,495.35 0.52%
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 23.09 2.21%
weth
WETH (WETH) $ 2,426.19 1.79%
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 334.62 0.58%
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 10.47 2.33%
usds
USDS (USDS) $ 1.00 0.01%
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 6.07 0.04%
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 3.81 0.55%
sui
Sui (SUI) $ 1.93 2.68%
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 66.83 0.07%
near
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 3.66 0.09%
wrapped-eeth
Wrapped eETH (WEETH) $ 2,552.93 1.81%
aptos
Aptos (APT) $ 8.18 0.25%
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 6.90 0.95%
pepe
Pepe (PEPE) $ 0.000008 0.03%
internet-computer
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 7.13 0.94%
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 1.00 0.02%
bittensor
Bittensor (TAO) $ 426.13 1.19%
fetch-ai
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) $ 1.14 0.54%
monero
Monero (XMR) $ 160.42 1.50%
ethena-usde
Ethena USDe (USDE) $ 1.00 0.07%
whitebit
WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) $ 18.92 0.05%
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.091385 0.28%
ethereum-classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 17.89 0.64%
kaspa
Kaspa (KAS) $ 0.105041 3.81%
first-digital-usd
First Digital USD (FDUSD) $ 0.999503 0.05%
polygon-ecosystem-token
POL (ex-MATIC) (POL) $ 0.297496 0.76%
blockstack
Stacks (STX) $ 1.50 1.82%
okb
OKB (OKB) $ 37.34 0.68%
dogwifcoin
dogwifhat (WIF) $ 2.04 1.23%
filecoin
Filecoin (FIL) $ 3.34 0.44%
aave
Aave (AAVE) $ 131.44 0.46%
crypto-com-chain
Cronos (CRO) $ 0.071547 0.31%
arbitrum
Arbitrum (ARB) $ 0.480265 0.75%
mantle
Mantle (MNT) $ 0.555193 1.25%
immutable-x
Immutable (IMX) $ 1.07 0.21%