In the end, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken got to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
That the meeting took place is considered positive for the relationship between the superpowers.
– If two of the world’s most powerful nations are enemies, it is not good for the rest of us, says Jonas Björk, foreign affairs commentator for TV4 Nyheterna.
The meeting in the Great Hall of the People must have lasted only 35 minutes. However, it is seen as an important measure of value. If Xi Jinping had not taken time during the two days Antony Blinken was in Beijing, it would have been seen as a chilling mark.
According to Chinese media, Xi Jinping is said to have said that it was very good that they talked about the need for mutual respect and forthrightness. They are also supposed to have marked the position on the issue of Taiwan, something that the US Secretary of State brought up at the press conference after the meeting.
– There has historically been a tense situation there for over 70 years, says TV4 Nyhetern’s foreign affairs commentator Jonas Björk when he talks about the relationship between the superpowers.
Chinese president positive
That Xi Jinping had time to meet with Antony Blinken was confirmed only an hour in advance. Only brief fragments of what was said have been published, but in them even the hardline Chinese president sounds positive. He stated, without any details, that the two sides had agreed on “some specific issues”.
– Just the fact that they sit down and try to sort out these differences of opinion is good for the outside world, says Jonas Björk and continues:
– This after relations have been more or less frozen. Not least since these incidents with these weather reconnaissance balloons that glided over the US last winter. It was very frozen back then.
“It was about time”
Antony Blinken arrived in China on Sunday and was also received for considerably longer meetings with, among others, China’s highest-ranking foreign politician Wang Yi. According to the Chinese statement, Wang Yi stressed that China will not compromise at all on the issue of Taiwan, and that the countries must decide whether they want “dialogue or confrontation”.
– It was about time because they have not been seen for a very long time at this top level, says Jonas Björk.
Antony Blinken’s visit to China is the highest-profile American trip there during Joe Biden’s presidency. The last time an American Secretary of State visited China was five years ago.