China and US Face Choice Between Stability and Downward Spiral as Blinken Meets Officials in Beijing

The foreign ministers of China and the US have urged their countries to choose between stability in relations or a downward spiral, as American diplomat Antony Blinken met senior Chinese officials on Friday during an official visit to Beijing. “Should we maintain momentum with bilateral progress toward greater predictability,” Wang Yi told Blinken at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, “or slip into a vicious cycle?” he said through an interpreter, speaking about ties between China and the US which he suggested were beginning to stabilise. The remarks came as Chinese officials criticised actions taken by Washington in the name of national security that Beijing sees as attempts at suppression; measures have included export restrictions on advanced technologies and curbs on American investment into certain high-tech sectors within China, while a new law could lead to a nationwide ban on popular app TikTok unless its parent firm sells it off. Before heading back stateside later in the day Blinken was also expected to discuss issues of contention including Beijing’s support for Russia and Iranian provocations in the Middle East with his Chinese counterparts, while also underlining common cause in several global affairs which were both responsible for overcoming jointly.