CHINESE President Xi Jinping met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday, agreeing to “stabilise” badly deteriorated relations between the two countries.

Mr Blinken reportedly confirmed the long-standing US policy of not supporting independence for the breakaway Chinese province of Taiwan.

When asked last year, Mr Biden said Washington would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, though aides later said his comments did not reflect a policy departure from the long-standing “one China” policy.

But the US has continued to adopt a hostile stance towards China over Taiwan, including the former speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visiting the island and provocative manoeuvres by the US military in the Straits of Taiwan.  

Both sides said they were satisfied with progress made during the two days of talks in Beijing, without pointing to specific areas of agreement beyond a mutual decision to return to a broad agenda for cooperation and competition endorsed last year by presidents Xi and Biden at a summit in Bali.

Mr Xi said: “The Chinese side has made our position clear, and the two sides have agreed to follow through the common understandings President Biden and I had reached in Bali.”

He added: “The two sides have made progress and reached agreement on some specific issues. This is very good.”

Mr Blinken said: “It is absolutely vital that we have these kinds of communications. This is something we’re going to keep working on.”

The two sides expressed a willingness to hold more talks and US officials expect the visit by Mr Blinken to pave the way for more bilateral meetings in coming months.

China analyst Carlos Martinez called the visit “a step in the right direction.” 

He said: “With US-China relations at their lowest ebb since the start of the rapprochement in the early 1970s, and with the US side escalating a multifaceted new cold war, reducing tensions between the two countries is a matter of global importance.” 

He added: “Ultimately, prospects for a lasting global peace hinge on whether the US can bring itself to accept the reality of a multipolar world.”

Peace campaigner and China specialist Jenny Clegg said there were “some positive signs” from the talks which may help to ease tensions but “China will now expect concrete demonstration of good will.” 

But, she added, restoring good relations “could be a work of many years.”