Beijing, 22 April 2024 (TDI): Spokesperson Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Wang Wenbin on Monday confirmed that US Secretary of State, Anthony J. Blinken will undertake an official visit to the People’s Republic of China from April 24th to 26th.
According to the statement from the spokesperson, Secretary Blinken’s visit comes at the invitation of the Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC (Communist Party of China) Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi.
The State Department United States of America while confirming Secretary Blinken’s visit in a statement said that during his visit Secretary Blinken is scheduled to engage with senior officials of China in Shanghai and Beijing.
The meetings will discuss a diverse range of bilateral, regional, and global issues, including the crisis in the Middle East, Russia Ukraine conflict, cross-strait issues, and the South China Sea.
Furthermore, the Secretary’s visit will also highlight the ongoing work to fulfill the commitments made by President Xi and President Biden during their meeting at the Woodside Summit in November.
The commitments made were over a wide range of topics including to resume counternarcotics cooperation, military-to-military communication, artificial intelligence, and to strengthen people-to-people relations.
The statement also added that the Secretary will reiterate the importance of the United States and China responsibly managing competition, even in areas where the two countries disagree.
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It is to be noted that last week President Biden called for a sharp increase of tariffs for steel imports from China citing “unfair competition.”
In response, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson during the regular press briefing session said that China has been asking the United States to seriously respect the principles of fair competition, observe World Trade Organization rules, and immediately lift all trade protectionist measures against China.
He further added that China will always do what is necessary to safeguard its legitimate rights.
