President Xi Jinping Accepts Foreign Minister Blinken: US And China Have Obligations And Responsibilities To Maintain Relations

President Xi Jinping received US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken. (Source: Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

JAKARTA - United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday, after previously holding a meeting with two senior Chinese officials during a visit amid efforts to maintain communication and relations between the two countries.

An expected meeting, but no party can confirm it will last up to an hour before talks take place, which is seen as key to Blinken's successful journey to the Bamboo Curtain Country.

Chinese President Xi Jinping praised "progress" for Washington's relations with Beijing in talks with Foreign Minister Blinken.

The meeting, which lasted for about 30 minutes, is considered to be able to help facilitate the summit between President Xi and US President Joe Biden by the end of this year.

The two leaders are known to have last met on the sidelines of the G20 Bali Summit, Indonesia in November last year, pledging to communicate more frequently, although their relationship has since deteriorated due to various problems ranging from Taiwan to espionage issues.

"Both sides agreed to follow up on the mutual understanding that President Biden and I have reached in Bali. Both sides have also made progress and reached an agreement on several specific issues. This is very good," President Xi told Foreign Minister Blinken, as quoted by Reuters, June 19.

Chinese state media said President Xi conveyed to Foreign Minister Blinken in a closed meeting, China hopes to see the relationship between the two countries that is better and stronger, believing it can overcome various difficulties.

However, he also urged the US not to "injure China's legitimate rights and interests", a signal of potential hotspots like Taiwan.

"President (Joe) Biden asked me to go to Beijing, because he believes the United States and China have an obligation and responsibility to maintain our relationship," Foreign Minister Blinken told President Xi, citing The National News.

"The United States is committed to doing so. It is for the benefit of the United States, for the benefit of China, and for the benefit of the world," he continued.

It is known, being the most senior US official to visit China in the last five years, Foreign Minister Blinken traveled when both sides clashed in various ways.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Blinken held talks with senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi, amid signs of some progress on his two-day mission to defuse strained relations between the world's largest economies.

It followed up on Foreign Minister Blinken's meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang for 7.5 hours the day before.

Separately, analysts assess President Xi's comments and body language during the visit, signaling a desire to make progress.

"China's message is quite positive," said Wu Xinbo, a professor and director at the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai.

"China shows that they still hope to work with the US to stabilize and improve relations. I think even though China is not optimistic about China-US relations, China is also not desperate," he said.