Blinken, Wang voice cautious hope in talks

INDONESIA: The top diplomats of the United States and China on Saturday voiced guarded hope of preventing tensions from spiraling out of control as they held rare talks on the Indonesian island of Bali.

Neither side expected major breakthroughs between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, but they have moderated their tone and stepped up interaction at a time when the West is focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“In a relationship as complex and consequential as the one between the United States and China, there is a lot to talk about,” Blinken said as he opened discussions at a resort hotel in Bali, where the pair attended a Group of 20 (G20) gathering the day before. “We very much look forward to a productive and constructive conversation.”

Wang said Chinese President Xi Jinping believed in cooperation, as well as “mutual respect” between the world’s two largest economic powers, and there needed to be “normal exchanges” between them.

“We do need to work together to ensure that this relationship will continue to move forward along the right track,” Wang said in front of US and Chinese flags before a day of talks that will include a working lunch.

Daniel Kritenbrink, the top US diplomat for East Asia, earlier said Blinken would seek “guardrails” in Washington’s rivalry with Beijing and do “everything possible to ensure that we prevent any miscalculation that could lead inadvertently to conflict.”

It is Blinken and Wang’s first in-person meeting since October. They are expected to prepare for virtual talks in the coming weeks between Xi and US President Joe Biden.

After a long chill during the coronavirus pandemic between the two countries, since last month their defense, finance and national security chiefs, as well as their top military commanders, have all spoken.

– INDIA TODAY