US invites Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to visit

US State Department headquarters in Washington DC

Speaking to reporters, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the invitation was made during a meeting on July 31 between senior US and Chinese officials in Washington. Mr. Miller declined to answer the question of whether the Chinese side had accepted the invitation, but said this was a visit that the US "expects to take place."

According to Mr. Miller, although there is no specific time yet, one possible occasion for the visit is on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting taking place in New York in mid-September.

Mr. Wang Yi has just been appointed as Foreign Minister to replace Mr. Qin Gang, who was dismissed. Mr. Wang Yi served as Foreign Minister of China from 2013-2022, before holding the position of Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Mr. Wang Yi, then Chinese Foreign Minister, at a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow (Russia) on September 11, 2020 (photo (file)

Observers say that in an effort to promote dialogue with China before the US presidential election in 2024, Washington has promoted meetings with Chinese officials in recent weeks. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Mr. Wang Yi in June in Beijing and in late July in Jakarta (Indonesia), on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meetings.

Since then, a series of high-ranking US officials have visited Beijing, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change John Kerry. In late July, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced plans to visit China later this summer.

According to VNA