US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi held their first talks since the beginning of October, when the two countries intensified their interaction during a time that the West is focussed at their involvement in the Ukraine conflict.

There is a positive relationship between the United States(US) and China have held talks that were constructive according to the two sides after a lengthy meeting that was designed to prevent the tensions between them from getting into chaos.

“Despite the many facets in our relations, I am able to affirm that our delegations have found the talks today to be informative, open and positive,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday after five hours of meetings in Beijing with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on the Indonesian island of Bali.

“The relations between United States and China is extremely important for both nations, as well as for the entire world. We’re determined to manage this relationship, this contest with a sense of responsibility,” he said, saying that he would keep the channels open of diplomatic communication with Beijing.

China’s foreign ministry stated that the two sides had agreed to work together to improve relations, but it also rattled off a list of complaints against Washington in a statement, accusing that the United States of “smearing and inflicting harm on” their political systems.

“The Two parties.. . came to a common position on how to improve the Sino-US joint work group consultation to get better outcomes,” it said, noting that they “also reached a consensus to enhance cooperation in the area of the issue of climate changes and health”.

“Both parties believe that the dialogue is meaningful and constructive, and will to improve mutual understanding, decrease confusion and misjudgments and build the foundation for the future exchanges at a high level between both nations,” it added.

The meeting, where they had talks at the beginning of the day followed by a lunch, was mainly was focused on stopping competition from spilling into conflict that could be unintentional, and Washington’s opposition Beijing in a variety of issues, including Taiwan and the human rights.

Western criticism

“I shared the deep concern of America United States regarding Beijing’s increasingly controversial rhetoric and actions toward Taiwan and the critical necessity of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” Blinken declared.

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He also expressed his concerns about Ukraine and pressed Wang on Beijing’s backing of Moscow’s offensive against the country’s neighbor, and called for the country to separate itself from Russia just a few days following Sergey Lavrov, Kremlin’s top diplomat, received a barrage of Western criticism during talks at the G20 talks.

“This truly is a time in which we all need to speak up, just like we have heard every nation in the G20 do, and condemn the violence, and call for, among other things, that Russia let food products that are stuck inside Ukraine,” Blinken said.

Before the meeting began, Wang told reporters Chinese President Xi Jinping believed in cooperation and “mutual reverence” between the two most powerful economic powers. He also said it was essential to have “normal conversations” between the two countries.

“We have to collaborate to ensure that this partnership will continue to grow on the right path,” Wang said in front of US and Chinese flags.

Tone modulation

It was Blinken and Wang’s first face-to-face meeting for months and they’re likely to prepare for virtual discussions in the coming months with Xi as well as US Biden, the US president. Joe Biden as both powers intensify engagement and temper their rhetoric.

After a prolonged period of chills in the pandemic outbreak between the two nations, last month , their defense, finance and national security chiefs, as well as their most senior military commanders have talked.

China’s state-owned Global Times, known for its critique against America, wrote that United States, wrote that the increasing diplomatic ties “underscored that the sides’ agreement about avoiding confrontations that escalate”.