U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) and Vice President Han Zheng of China hold a meeting Monday in New York City, N.Y., on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Photo courtesy of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken/
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Sept. 19 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Vice President Han Zheng of China met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly amid global competition between their two countries and efforts by the Biden administration to find areas of collaboration.
The meeting happened Monday in New York City, and a readout of the exchange from the State Department said they held a "candid and constrictive discussion" that builds off recent high-level engagements between their two countries.
Tensions between the two global super powers have climbed for years, seeing the two hit one another with tit-for-tat punitive measures, but the situation reached a new height early this year when a high-altitude Chinese spy balloon was detected over Alaska and subsequently shot down by the United States. The escalation saw Blinken cancel a trip planned for February to the Asian country.
Over the summer, several high-ranking Biden administration officials have made visits to China, including Blinken in June and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in July among others, with the mission of maintaining channels of communication and finding realms of collaboration, such as fighting climate change.
Blinken and Zheng held a brief joint press conference on Monday, when the Chinese vice president remarked on the secretary's June visit, stating it sent a message to the world that their two countries were "stepping up engagement and dialogue and working together to stabilize the bilateral relationship."
"The world needs a steady and sound China-U.S. relationship, and such a relationship is beneficial with two countries and the world at large," Zheng said.
Blinken similarly remarked that he thought it was "a good thing" that they took the opportunity of the U.N. General Assembly to maintain communication and demonstrate "that we are responsibly managing the relationship between our two countries.
"From the perspective of the United States, face-to-face diplomacy is the best way to deal with areas where we disagree, and also the best way to explore areas of potential cooperation between us," he said. "The world expects us to responsibly manage our relationship."
The readout of the meeting states the pair discussed bilateral, global and regional issues, such as Russia's war against Ukraine and North Korea's recent missile launches, among other topics.
It added that Blinken underscored the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, which is a topic of confrontation for the two nations, as China views the self-governing island as a wayward province it has vowed to take back by force and the United States has sought to bolster its relations with Taipei, including militarily so it can defend against a potential Beijing invasion.
The meeting also came as Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi arrived in Russia for a four-day visit for talks on bolstering security and strategic coordination between Beijing and Moscow. Wang's trip also coincided with the end of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's visit to Russia amid speculations that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin were working on an arms deal.
