The US hopes that Secretary of State Blinken's recent visit to Beijing will accelerate the process of "cooling down" US-China tensions, while calling on China to push North Korea to participate in negotiations.
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| US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on June 18. (Source: AP) |
On June 21, US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel reiterated Secretary of State Antony Blinken's statements during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang in Beijing earlier this week and affirmed that China has the ability and responsibility to invite North Korea to participate in negotiations.
Commenting on the possibility that the thawing of US-China relations could have a positive impact on the North Korea issue, Mr. Patel emphasized that this was something the US Secretary of State directly raised during his trip, specifically, Beijing could fully utilize its influence with North Korea to encourage Pyongyang to negotiate and end the move that is believed to increase tensions.
On the same day, the White House affirmed that the US Secretary of State's trip had achieved some positive signals and expressed hope that the event would accelerate the process of "cooling down" US-China tensions.
China had earlier protested Mr Biden's remarks about Chinese President Xi Jinping at a fundraiser in California, calling the statement "an open political provocation".
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