New Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang sought better Sino-U.S. ties in a phone conversation with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on New Year’s Day, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing.
Qin, who served as China’s ambassador to the U.S. prior to his new job, looked forward to maintaining a close working relationship with Blinken, the ministry said in the statement Monday. Blinken separately said on Twitter that the two discussed “maintaining open lines of communication.”
The change of guard at China’s Foreign Ministry comes as Beijing shows signs of moving back to a lower-key diplomatic strategy following a growing backlash against its confrontational style. The two rivals have clashed over a variety of topics ranging from trade to technology, while continued U.S. support for Taiwan has remained a key source of tension with China, which regards the self-governed island as part of its territory.
