The U.S. Department of State has officially invited Wang Yi, the Chinese Foreign Minister, to Washington, D.C. This replaces the previous invitation extended to Qin Gang during Tony Blinken's visit to China, adjusting it to the new Foreign Minister.
Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the State Department, stated at a regular briefing on the 1st (local time) that Daniel Kritenbrink, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, conveyed this intention during a meeting with Yang Tao, Director-General of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs, at the State Department the previous day.
Spokesperson Miller explained, "We made it clear that the invitation extended to former Minister Qin Gang applies to Minister Wang." Regarding whether China has accepted the invitation, he said, "That is a matter for China to respond to," but added, "We expect China to accept." He also noted that no specific date has been discussed yet.
Earlier, during his visit to China in June, Secretary Blinken requested a reciprocal visit from Qin Gang, who was then the Foreign Minister, and received a positive response. However, Qin Gang has not appeared in official settings since the end of June and was abruptly dismissed last month after about seven months in office. Subsequently, former Foreign Minister Wang Yi resumed the position.
When asked whether the recent issue of Private Travis King, a U.S. soldier who defected to North Korea, was raised during the high-level U.S.-China talks the previous day, Spokesperson Miller replied, "I have no knowledge." The State Department confirmed that the talks covered ▲ the Ukraine war ▲ cross-Strait issues ▲ bilateral and global matters.
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