Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expected to visit US this week, say senior officials

Washington, DC [US]: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is expected to visit Washington, DC, later this week, US senior officials said, according to CNN.

His visit comes ahead of a potential meeting between President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in California next month.

Wang will meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan during his visit to the US capital from October 26 to 28, according to officials.

However, they did not say whether Wang would meet Biden during his visit, CNN reported.

Earlier, Blinken met President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

A Chinese official described Wang’s trip as “a reciprocal visit after Secretary Blinken’s trip to Beijing in June.”

According to CNN, tensions between the US and China have been rising, but the Biden administration has been making an effort to push for a dialogue with Beijing.

Wang’s visit comes at a time when the US has pledged its support to Israel in its ongoing war with the terrorist group Hamas, and, also amid the prevailing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

“This visit by Wang Yi is part of ongoing efforts to maintain open channels of communication with China across the full range of issues,” the Chinese official said, according to CNN.

Moreover, US officials are expected to discuss “the South and East China Seas, cross-Strait issues, the Middle East, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and North Korea’s provocations”, among other issues, with the Chinese Foreign Minister.

Amid the Israel-Hamas war, a senior State Department official said Blinken spoke with Wang on October 14, urging Beijing to use its relations with West Asian countries to stop the war in Israel from spreading, CNN reported.

The senior administration official added that the resumption of military-to-military relations remained a priority.

“If we’re going to continue to manage this relationship and our competition responsibly, if we’re truly going to minimise the risk of miscalculation that could veer into conflict, we have to get our mil-mil ties fully open,” the official said.

“There have been some sporadic engagements between our two defence establishments in the last couple of months, but what we need is sustained mil-mil dialogue and communication channels. And those aren’t yet established, but I can assure you that it’ll be on the agenda for Wang Yi’s visit,” the official added.