US, China agree on need to expand flights: US official
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang agreed Sunday (18 June) on the need to increase flights between the world's two largest economies, which remain at a bare minimum since the pandemic.
In extended talks in Beijing, the two top diplomats "agreed to work together to expand the number of flights", a US official said on condition of anonymity, while saying that no formal number was set.
While both sides said Sunday's talks were constructive, they seemed to agree on little beyond keeping the conversation going with an eventual meeting in Washington and working to make it easier for their citizens to visit each other's countries.
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Speaking after a 5-1/2 hour meeting followed by a dinner, US and Chinese officials both emphasised their desire for stable and predictable relations.
But China also made clear that Taiwan is the most important issue, and a potentially dangerous one.
"Qin Gang pointed out that the Taiwan issue is the core of China's core interests, the most important issue in Sino-US relations, and the most prominent risk," Chinese state media quoted Qin as having told the top US diplomat.
Sino-US ties have deteriorated across the board in recent years, raising concern the two might one day clash militarily over the self-governed island of Taiwan, which China claims as its own.
Especially alarming for China's neighbours has been Beijing's reluctance to engage in regular military-to-military talks with Washington.
