Washington stressed that Blinken would discuss in Beijing “the importance of keeping lines of communication open” between the two countries

MADRID, June 14 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, will travel to China this Friday as part of an international trip during which he will also travel to the United Kingdom, the State Department has confirmed, after days of speculation about Blinken’s visit. to the Asian giant.

“The Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, will travel to Beijing, China, and London, England, between June 16 and 21,” said Department spokesman Matthew Miller, who explained that during his stay in China he would meet with senior officials from other countries. “to discuss the importance of keeping lines of communication open to responsibly manage the relationship between the United States and China.”

Likewise, he has revealed that Blinken “will also discuss issues of bilateral concern, global and regional issues and potential cooperation on common transnational challenges”, hours after the Foreign Minister held a telephone conversation with his Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang .

After the conversation, Qin pointed out that “since the beginning of the year, China-US relations have faced new difficulties and challenges”, while stressing that the responsibility of these forces is “clear”, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. of the Asian giant.

“China has always considered and managed China-US relations in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and mutually beneficial cooperation established by President Xi Jinping,” he said, before stressing that he had conveyed to Blinken his “firm position on the main concern China”, aspects of which he indicated that Washington “should respect”.

On the other hand, Miller reports that Blinken will participate in the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London, which aims to “mobilize international support from the public and private sectors to help Ukraine recover from Russia’s brutal attack.” “While he is there, he will also meet with his counterparts from the UK, Ukraine and other partners and allies.”