Blinken calls Beijing Trip 'positive step' for US-China ties

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US-China relationship had taken a "positive step" forward during his two-day trip to Beijing, putting ties between the world's largest economies on more stable footing. 

"My hope and expectation is we'll have better communications, better engagement going forward," the US diplomat said at a press conference in Beijing on Monday, hours after meeting President Xi Jinping. "It's in the interest of the United States to do that. It's in the interest of China to that it's in the interest of the world." 

"And I think we took a positive step in that direction over the last few days," Blinken added.

The Chinese leader earlier had rare praise for Blinken's visit, saying it was "very good" the two sides made progress on stabilising the relationship. "The two sides have also made progress and reached agreements on some specific issues," Xi said, without elaborating, according the US State Department.

The upbeat words indicate that both sides are ready to turn back the clock to November, when Xi and US President Joe Biden pledged to improve relations during a meeting in Indonesia. That process was derailed in February after an alleged Chinese spy balloon floated through US air space, causing Blinken to cancel a trip to Beijing and bringing US-China relations to their lowest point in decades.

But while the US diplomat's meeting cools the temperature on spiralling ties, it's unlikely to solve fundamental differences on a range of issues. The US and China are at odds over trade and intellectual-property disputes, human rights concerns, Taiwan's security, China's support for Russia's war in Ukraine and US limits on advanced technology. 

"We have no illusions about the challenges of managing this relationship," Blinken said. "There are many issues on which we profoundly even vehemently disagree."

Blinken said on Monday that he told Xi the US welcome China playing a "constructive" role in bringing peace to Ukraine, but added the US has concerns about private Chinese firms helping Russia's war effort — and wants Beijing to police them more vigilantly. He also stressed Beijing's unique position to push North Korea to engage in diplomacy and end its "dangerous" behaviour. 

The US diplomat also said he emphasised on the visit that the US wasn't trying to contain China's economic rise. He laid out specific areas of military technology where Washington saw limits to engagement, such as China's build up of nuclear weapons and development of hypersonic missiles.

"How is it in our interest to provide those specific technologies to China?" Blinken said. "And other countries feel the same way."