US, China top diplomats voice cautious hope in rare talks

The top diplomats from the United States and China voiced guarded hope Saturday of preventing tensions from spiralling out of control as they held rare talks on the Indonesian island of Bali.

Neither side expected major breakthroughs between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, but the two powers have moderated their tone and stepped up interaction at a time when the West is focused on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"In a relationship as complex and consequential as the one between the United States and China, there is a lot to talk about," Blinken said as he opened discussions at a resort hotel in Bali, where the pair attended a Group of 20 gathering the day before.

"We very much look forward to a productive and constructive conversation," Blinken said.

Wang said that President Xi Jinping believed in cooperation as well as "mutual respect" between the world's two largest economic powers and that there needed to be "normal exchanges" between them.

"We do need to work together to ensure that this relationship will continue to move forward along the right track," Wang said.

It is Blinken and Wang's first in-person meeting since October. They are expected to prepare for virtual talks in the coming weeks between Xi and President Joe Biden.