Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday met the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Beijing.
The meeting, held at the Great Hall of the People, was aimed at easing tensions between the US and China, AFP reports.
Blinken’s talks with Jinping were largely seen as the success of his two-day high-stakes visit to Beijing.
Neither the president nor the top US diplomat had confirmed that they would hold the bilateral talks, until a State Department official announced an hour before the duo’s closely monitored engagement.
Observers say had President Jinping subbed Blinken, it would have been a major blow on the US and China’s efforts to mend bridges.
Blinken is the highest-level US official to visit China since President Joe Biden took office, and the first secretary of state to make the trip in five years.
His visit is expected to usher in a new round of visits by senior US and Chinese officials, possibly including a meeting between Xi and Biden in the coming months, AFP reports.
Addressing journalists after the meeting, President Jinping said the world needs a generally stable China-US relationship.
“The common interests of the two countries should be valued, and their respective success is an opportunity instead of a threat to each other,” he said.
The Chinese head of state added that the world “does not want to see conflict or confrontation between China and the United States or choose sides between the two countries”.
“It (the world) expects the two countries to co-exist in peace and have friendly and cooperative relations,” he said.
On his part, Blinken said the US and China have agreed to “stabilise” US-China relations.
“In every meeting, I stressed that direct engagement and sustained communication at senior levels is the best way to responsibly manage differences and ensure that competition does not veer into conflict,” he said.
“I heard the same from my Chinese counterparts. We both agree on the need to stabilise our relationship,” added Blinken.
