US-China pledge to stabilise tense relationship
United States and China have agreed to try and stabilise relations to avoid veering into conflict, but did not announce any major breakthroughs during a visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing.
A roughly 30-minute meeting with President Xi Jinping on Monday was Blinken's final engagement on the closely watched trip, which included talks with China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, and Foreign Minister Qin Gang.
There are hopes that the two days of talks could lead to a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping this year.
'The Chinese side has made our position clear, and the two countries have agreed to follow through the common understandings President Biden and I had reached in Bali,' President Xi told the US secretary of state in Beijing, adding that the 'two sides have also made progress and reached agreement on some specific issues'.
During the otherwise closed-door talks, President Xi said China 'hopes to see a sound and steady China-US relationship' and believes the two countries 'can overcome various difficulties', according to a readout by China's state news agency Xinhua.
US secretary of state Blinken said the two countries 'have an obligation and responsibility' to manage their relationship and the US was 'committed to doing that'.
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