China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, said that Beijing wants to “reduce misunderstanding and misjudgement” with Washington, ahead of a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

In comments to the press ahead of a meeting with Mr Blinken in Washington, Mr Wang said that relations between the U.S. and China must be put back on a healthy, stable and sustainable path.

“What is right and what is wrong is not based on who has “the stronger arm or a louder voice,” the chief diplomat said.

Mr Blinken said he agreed with what the Chinese minister said and that he was looking forward “to constructive conversations over the next two days.”

Mr Wang’s visit was due to end on Saturday.

Relations between the U.S. and China have been strained by a raft of issues, including China’s backing of Russia’s war in Ukraine, threats from Beijing against Taiwan and ongoing trade disputes.

Recently, both countries have worked to improve their relations with more frequent visits by government representatives.

Observers have been expecting for some time that there could be a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Asia-Pacific Summit (APEC), due to be held in San Francisco in November.

However, the White House has remained cautious publicly and it remains unclear whether Mr Xi will attend the summit. 

President Biden has repeatedly hinted that there could be talks between him and President Xi this year.

The two last met in 2022 on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia and Mr Xi did not travel to the G20 summit in India this past September.

(dpa/NAN)