Beijing - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday the United States and China have an obligation to manage their relationship responsibly, and that he told Chinese leaders during meetings in Beijing that direct engagement is the best way to ensure disagreements do not turn into conflict.

Speaking to reporters in Beijing, Blinken said he had candid and substantive discussions Monday with Chinese President Xi Jinping and top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi.

Blinken said he raised U.S. concerns about provocative Chinese actions in the Taiwan Strait. Blinken said he reiterated that the United States does not support Taiwanese independence and that it continues to expect the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait differences.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, June 19, 2023.

He told reporters he also raised human rights issues, including international concerns about treatment of people in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong, as well as the wrongful detention of U.S. citizens in China.

Blinken also said the United States is ready to cooperate with China on issues of mutual interest. He said those include climate change, macroeconomic stability, public health, food security and counter-narcotics.

Blinken, who arrived in Beijing on Sunday, is the highest-level U.S. official to visit China since 2018. His trip was rescheduled from February after a Chinese surveillance balloon flew through U.S. airspace.

Americans wrongfully detained in China

Children of Americans who the U.S. considers wrongfully detained by Chinese authorities had asked Blinken to raise their fathers' cases with his Chinese counterparts.

"Behind every hostage is a family suffering every day," said "Bring Our Families Home Campaign" in a tweet Sunday.

"This Sunday will be the 7th time I've missed Father's Day with my dad," said Harrison Li. "Releasing my dad is one of the easiest things that the Chinese government can do to show they are serious about normalizing relations."

Harrison Li's dad, Kai Li, is an American citizen detained in China since September 2016. He was later sentenced to 10 years in prison for espionage, a charge that his family rejects.

Alice Lin is the daughter of American pastor David Lin, who was detained under unclear circumstances in 2006 and later sentenced to life in prison on charges of contract fraud. Lin's family staunchly maintains his innocence. Lin's sentence was later reduced, and he is expected to be released in 2029.

"Secretary Blinken, we miss my dad. Please do everything possible to bring him home," Lin told VOA.

Families of Americans Wrongfully Detained in China Urge Blinken to Prioritize Release

Taiwan

Washington has said China's military escalation in the Taiwan Strait was "a global concern."

A senior State Department official told VOA it is an "abiding interest" of the U.S. to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. China is seen as ramping up economic coercion targeting Taiwan ahead of its presidential election.

In May, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told senators that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could halt the world's largest advanced semiconductor production, wiping out up to $1 trillion per year.

"I will say this number is way too small" because it only costs about 6% of China's gross domestic product, said Chen-Yu Li who is the chief economist of Taishin Financial Holdings in Taiwan.

Li said a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait will affect other Asian economies such as Japan and South Korea, whose GDP totals at least 5 trillion. He also cited the market value of tech giants such as Apple, Nvidia, AMD which Li estimates is at least $3 trillion.

"If Taiwan is under attack, the stock market in the U.S. may vanish $3 trillion," Li said during a May 12 event hosted by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

"If I am Xi Jinping, I'll be very happy to attack Taiwan. It's just 6%."

Human rights

In a signed letter to Blinken, 42 nongovernmental organizations urged the top U.S. diplomat to hold the Chinese government accountable for its human rights abuses, citing repression against ordinary people who participated in peaceful protests.

"Hong Kong police detained over 20 people for commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre after banning the annual Victoria Park candlelight vigil," said the letter.

Some information for this story came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.