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June 14 (UPI) -- Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed Friday that he will be traveling to Beijing and after a critical phone meeting with China's foreign minister and relations between the two countries at a low point. State Department officials said Blinken will travel to China beginning Friday and is expected to meet with senior Chinese officials to "discuss the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to responsibly manage the U.S.-PRC relationship."
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"He will also raise bilateral issues of concern, global and regional matters, and potential cooperation on shared transnational challenges," the State Department said.
Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs said, however, that Blinken would not arrive in China with "expectations of a long list of deliverables."
"We're coming to Beijing with a realistic, confident approach and a sincere desire to manage our competition the most responsible way possible," Kritenbrink said.
The announcement of Blinken's travel plans came after China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang told Blinken in a call Tuesday that the United States should "show respect" to Beijing's interests including its claims over Taiwan.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Blinken stressed open communications between the two countries during the call.
"The secretary discussed the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to responsibly manage the U.S.-PRC relationship to avoid miscalculation and conflict, addressed a range of bilateral and global issues, and made clear the U.S. would continue to use diplomatic engagements to raise areas of concern as well as areas of potential cooperation," he said.
China's readout of the call, however, reflected a much more forceful tone from Beijing, noting that Qin told Blinken the U.S. government should "stop undermining China's sovereignty, security and development interests in the name of competition."
The remarks come amid increased tensions between the two nations, with China condemning a trade agreement between the United States and Taiwan this month which aimed to "strengthen and deepen the economic and trade relationship between."
Blinken had previously canceled a planned February trip to China after the U.S. said a Chinese spy balloon was spotted flying over Montana, although Beijing maintained the aircraft was a meteorological research device that veered off course.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning at the time said the deal "gravely violates" Beijing's "one-China" policy under which it views Taiwan as a wayward province and has vowed to retake it by force, if necessary.
In the readout of Tuesday's call, Qin alluded to a meeting between U.S. leaders in Bali as an opportunity to smooth relations.
"I hope that the U.S. side will take practical actions to implement the important consensus of the meeting between the two heads of state in Bali, move in the same direction as the Chinese side, effectively manage differences, promote exchanges and cooperation, and promote the stabilization of China-U.S. relations," Qin said.
During the trip, which is set to last through June 21, Blinken will also visit London and attend the Ukraine Recovery Conference to help mobilize international support from the public and private sector to help Ukraine recover from Russia's continued invasion.
The State Department added that Blinken will meet with his counterparts from Britain, Ukraine and other allies.
