Alys Davies
Live reporter

We're closing our live coverage of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Beijing, where he met China's leader Xi Jinping.

Relations between the two superpowers reached a real low in recent months. But Blinken's visit seems to have at least done something to re-open channels of communication between the two nations.

To read more on Blinken's meeting with Xi, click here.

Today's page was edited by Owen Amos, Alexandra Fouché, Frances Mao and myself. The writers were Sam Hancock, Gabriela Pomeroy, Jennifer McKiernan and Joel Guinto.

Image source, Reuters

We’ll be closing our live coverage of Antony Blinken’s two-day visit to Beijing shortly. Before we go, here's a recap of what happened:

• After months of rapidly declining US-China relations, the US secretary of state met Chinese President Xi Jinping, as well as China's top diplomat Wang Yi and Foreign Minister Qin Gang
• Blinken said the talks were “candid and substantive”, adding the need to stabilise the relationship was at the centre of the talks, as well as China's ambitions on Taiwan, and Russia's war in Ukraine
• Blinken reiterated the US did not support Taiwan's independence, but warned against China's "provocative actions" in the Taiwan Strait
• He said China had stressed it would not supply lethal aid to Russia to use in Ukraine

• Earlier, President Xi said it was "very good" the two sides had "made progress and reached agreement on some specific issues"
• There are plans for China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang to visit the US, Reuters news agency reports, quoting a Chinese foreign ministry official

Away from Beijing, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier - who's currently hosting Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Berlin - says there's a "special importance" when it comes to relations between the US and China.

Steinmeier says their relationship helps to ensure "global security and co-operation," according to his spokeswoman Cerstin Gammelin.

"He [also] called for the strengthening of communication channels between both countries," she said.

Image source, Reuters

Fan Wang
Reporting from Singapore

Image source, Reuters

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken walked on bare concrete when he arrived at the airport in Beijing on Sunday, sparking a conversation on Chinese social media about the absence of a red carpet.

Many Weibo users noted French President Emmanuel Macron had been given a red carpet welcome for his visit last April.

But Blinken is America's top diplomat, not the head of a government like Macron.

One of Blinken's predecessors, Hillary Clinton, did get a red carpet welcome at Beijing airport in 2012. But the last such visit - by Mike Pompeo in 2018 - was not given such an honour.

“We have indeed avoided giving the US any room to play with when it comes to etiquette and protocol," says Su Xiaohui from the China Institute of International Studies, while complimenting eagle-eyed Weibo users who noticed its absence.

Commenting on China's current perspective on China-US relations, she adds that China isn't impolite, but "we also avoid letting the US grab any chance to be superior".

Blinken walked on a red carpet, however, when he met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi earlier today.

They shook hands - though Blinken's pat on Wang's back before they retreated to closed chambers was unreturned.

Taiwan issue looms largepublished at 13:43 British Summer Time 19 June 2023

13:43 BST 19 June 2023

Stephen McDonell
China correspondent

China’s all-powerful leader, Xi Jinping, told his visitor, Antony Blinken, that the international community was worried about Sino-US relations and that the extent to which Washington and Beijing can get along “will matter for the future destiny of mankind”.

In a way that’s an understatement. Military analysts can see the extent to which the world’s superpowers are each day moving in the direction of potential armed conflict.

Such clashes could even be accidental. Recent near-misses from military planes and ships have shown how urgent some type of cooling down is needed.

For the Chinese side, this visit has been a chance to warn the US about the dangers posed by the Taiwan situation.

China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang put it quite bluntly when he said that “Taiwan is the core of China’s core interests, the most important issue in China-US relations and the most prominent risk”.

But Taiwan is much more serious than a mere talking point. These two governments are at clear loggerheads over the self-ruling island, and this could result in a deadly outcome.

Put simply: Xi would dearly love to bring Taiwan under Beijing’s control during his term in office, if necessary, by force.

But the vast majority of people living there are not prepared to give up their freedoms to unite with mainland China and the US has increasingly indicated that it would not stand by and let Taiwan fall without its help militarily.

The only remotely acceptable position for all concerned would seem to be the extension of the status quo. Yet for how long can that last?

Stephen McDonell
China correspondent

China's Xi Jinping said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's earlier meetings had reportedly been “candid and in-depth” - this might normally be considered just rhetoric as leaders often speak about their “frank discussions”.

However, this time, it does seem to have actually reflected reality.

Officials associated with these talks said that those involved were speaking their minds in meetings which went hours longer than expected.

Then having a face-to-face meeting with China’s leader inside the Great Hall of the People was the symbolic icing on the cake.

Xi was clearly sending message to his own people that his government is reaching out to Washington.

Neither side was giving any ground, but at least high-level communication is resuming somewhat, and a path has been cleared for more interaction.

China's President Xi Jinping and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had "robust conversation" which covered a broad range of issues, during their meeting today, Blinken said.

Take a look at how the day unfolded in this video.

China and the US have interests that are destined to clashpublished at 13:14 British Summer Time 19 June 2023

13:14 BST 19 June 2023

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

Even while the American side was celebrating what they view as a successful resumption of high-level contact with the Chinese, they acknowledged that there are larger, more intractable differences between the two nations.

Taiwan, without a doubt, is the biggest area of contention – and the one that has the highest potential of escalating from a war of words into a shooting war. Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi said it is an issue on which there is “no room to compromise”.

On a wider scale, China has ambitions to become the dominant regional power and global player equal to the US. The US continues to have its own agenda in world affairs – as the leader in what Joe Biden has described as an era-defining global struggle between democracies and autocracies.

The US has said that it’s policy toward China is one of de-risking – avoiding the possibility of crisis and conflict – rather than containment or decoupling from China. But the US efforts to organise regional allies – Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and India – is viewed by the Chinese as a containment in deed if not in word.

Meanwhile, on the economic front, the Biden administration has placed an emphasis – backed by hundreds of billions of dollars of government support – on boosting the US computer-chip manufacturing sector. At the same time, they have limited exports of advanced computer technologies to China. The Chinese consider this, along with Trump-era tariffs, as opening shots in a trade war. The Americans, on the other hand, think its a measured response to decades of Chinese subsidies of their key industries.

Biden and US officials have said they view the Chinese as rivals and competitors and not adversaries. It is a fine line to walk, however, as the competition – both militarily and economically – heats up. And while the US and the Chinese both appear interested in normalising and stabilising their relationship, the cold reality is that the two global powers have interests that are destined to conflict. How they manage these differences in the end will determine what kind of future the two nations shape.

The top US diplomat earlier held talks with the Chinese president, as part of his two-day trip to China.

• Describing the relationship between China and the US as "consequential", he said both nations have an obligation to stabilise that relationship and manage it "responsibly"
• Blinken - who met Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier - said communication would be strengthened as a result of the trip
• He also said his conversations with both Xi and Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi were "robust" and covered everything from "Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine" through to America's fentanyl crisis
• On Taiwan, Blinken reiterated the US's longstanding One China policy, meaning there is only one Chinese government. But he also warned against China's "provocative actions" in the Taiwan Strait, which he raised with Xi
• The US remains "deeply concerned" about human rights "violations" by China, specifcally in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong, Blinken said
• He said China had reitereated that it would not supply lethal aid to Russia to use in Ukraine - but Blinken warned about Chinese private companies' influence
• He admitted the US-China relationship had suffered "instability" - and that it was important to stabilise it
• To finish, he assured the people and government of China that the US isn't "seeking to economically contain them". China's "broad economic success" also benefits the US, he said

Image source, Reuters

Speaking about the trip itself, Blinken says it was "clear" that the relationship between China and the US was at a point of "instability" prior to his visit, with both sides recognising the need to stabilise it.

He says it is important to open better lines of communication in order to address misperceptions and miscalculations.

And he says visits from other senior US officials to China and Chinese officials to the US can be expected in the coming weeks.

"Progress is hard, it's not the product of one trip," Blinken states - but he says the last two days have been a positive step forwards.

And that's the end of the US secretary of state's news conference.

Asked about China's commitment not to provide lethal aid to Russia in its war with Ukraine, Blinken says this was made "repeatedly" in recent weeks - not just to the US but other countries too.

"That is an important commitment, an important policy, and we've not seen anything right now to contradict that," he says.

But Blinken adds the US remains concerned about "private companies in China that may be providing assistance, in some cases clearly directed at enhancing Russia's military capacity in Ukraine".

Answering questions from reporters, Blinken returns to Taiwan.

Hs says there is rising concern about China's "provocative actions", but he repeats that the US does not support Taiwan’s independence.

If there was a crisis over Taiwan, he says, it was likely "that could produce an economic crisis that could affect the entire world".

He explains that 50% of commercial container traffic goes through the Taiwan Strait every day. And 70% of semi conductors exports are made in Taiwan.

Image source, EPA

Blinken says he's been seeking to "disabuse our hosts" of the notion the US is "seeking to economically contain them".

"The facts simply belie that proposition," he says, citing rising trade, which is "profoundly in our interests".

China's "broad economic success" also benefits the US - but "certain specific technologies" must be guarded against to protect our national security, he adds.

Blinken says he brought up the issue of synthetic opioids and fentanyl with Xi.

Fentanyl is the number one killer of Americans aged 18-49, Blinken tells the media, calling its production and sale a "crisis" in the US.

China and the US are now in talks to set up a working group in a bid to shut off the flow of the kinds of chemicals that "help fuel this crisis," Blinken says.

Blinken says the US remains "deeply concerned" about human rights "violations" by the People's Republic of China.

He specifies violations in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong.

On Taiwan, Blinken reiterated the longstanding US's One China policy, meaning there is only one Chinese government.

"That policy has not changed," he says

"We do not support Taiwan independence," he adds, explaining the US does not want a change to the status quo.

But he adds he raised with President Xi the US concerns about China's "provocative actions" in the Taiwan Strait.

As well as appealing to China to help bring about a "just peace" in Ukraine, Blinken says he and President Xi also discussed what's happening in North Korea.

Countries around the world have a shared interest in North Korea acting responsibly - including stopping firing missiles, he says.

There is a need to stabilise relations between the US and China, Blinken says.

He says there was a "robust conversation" about global affairs, including "Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine".

And he said the competition with China should not veer into conflict - a line he has used before.

Blinken says he came to China to strengthen communications - and to make clear areas of agreement and disagreement.

"We did all of that", he says.