China and the U.S. reached a common understanding in some areas and took “an important step” toward repairing their fraught relationship during a meeting between the two countries’ top diplomats, the foreign ministry said Friday.
Wang Yi, director of the party Central Committee’s foreign affairs office, met U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Jakarta, according to a foreign ministry statement. During the meeting Wang told Blinken that “the critical next step is to take real actions to put the bilateral relationship back on the right track.”
The meeting was the second between the two diplomats over the last month, following Blinken’s visit to Beijing in June.
Wang urged Washington to lift the “illegal and unwarranted” sanctions against China and stop suppressing the country in terms of trade, science, technology and its economy, the statement said. Beijing made similar demands during U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s visit to China last week.
During the “candid, pragmatic and constructive” meeting, Wang reiterated that the U.S. should avoid brazenly “interfering in China’s internal affairs,” the statement said.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the meeting is part of “ongoing efforts to maintain open channels of communication to clarify U.S. interests across a wide range of issues and to responsibly manage competition. Similar phrases were used during Blinken’s visit to Beijing last month.
Xi and Biden’s governments have tried to rebuild lines of communication, while also fighting a tit-for-tat trade war that’s seen both sides restrict exports critical to advanced technologies.
U.S. climate envoy John Kerry is set to arrive in Beijing on Sunday.
Bloomberg contributed to the story.
Contact reporter Kelly Wang (jingzhewang@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)
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