By Michelle Nichols and Humeyra Pamuk
UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is yet to receive a response from China for the invitation it has extended to newly reappointed Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi to Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday.
Earlier this week, Washington has formally extended the invite to veteran diplomat Wang, after his predecessor Qin Gang was abruptly removed from his post in late July by Beijing.
“We don’t have a response yet, but we just extended that invitation and I would expect we’ll have an opportunity to see each other and to continue the important conversations that I had in Beijing, ” Blinken told reporters on the sidelines of an event at the United Nations in New York.
Qin has not been seen in public since June 25 – a mysterious absence after just seven months in the job that has raised questions about transparency. China’s foreign ministry has only said Qin was off work for unspecified health reasons.
Blinken met Qin on June 18, on the first visit by America’s top diplomat to China in five years. The U.S. State Department said then they held “candid, substantive, and constructive” talks, and Blinken invited Qin to Washington to continue discussions.
Blinken met Wang, 69, who served as foreign minister from 2013-2022, in July on the sidelines of a regional meeting in Jakarta in Qin’s absence.
On Thursday, China’s foreign ministry said in a statement to Reuters that it was “willing to maintain communications” with the United States on a possible future visit by Wang to Washington but did not elaborate further.
Blinken indicated Washington expected Beijing to respond positively to the invite, noting that after his visit, other members of the Biden administration such as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Climate Envoy John Kerry had also traveled to China.
“We fully expect Chinese counterparts to come to the United States,” Blinken said. “There is an obligation that both the United States and China responsibly manage this relationship and that starts with talking.”
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols and Humeyra Pamuk; Additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Alison Williams)
