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US-China relations: envoys ‘aim to build’ on Wendy Sherman’s Tianjin talks
- Qin Gang, Beijing’s new ambassador to US, meets with the deputy secretary of state in Washington
- Common ground on big issues is unlikely but the US can get a better idea of China’s positions, analyst says
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The No 2 US diplomat met with Beijing’s new envoy in Washington on Thursday as the two sides reviewed a recent meeting and discussed future contacts.
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The meeting between US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and China’s new ambassador Qin Gang, who arrived in Washington in late July, followed months of posturing, tension and accusations between the two giants.
“The deputy secretary reviewed issues from her meetings with PRC officials in Tianjin last month and expressed the United States’ commitment to continuing discussions,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said, invoking the official name of the People’s Republic of China. The brief statement, which did not provide further details about the talks, also welcomed Qin to Washington.
In a longer account, the Chinese embassy in Washington said that Qin told Sherman the China-US relationship is at a “new crossroads”.
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According to the embassy, Qin said he would follow the spirit of a telephone conversation between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden on the eve of the Lunar New Year, enhance communication and dialogue and work to “promote a rational, stable, manageable and constructive China-US relationship”.
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