Washington, DC – The United States has formally invited China’s new Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Washington as officials from the two countries continue to meet regularly amid intensifying competition.
The US State Department confirmed the invite on Tuesday, saying Washington expects Wang to accept it, but it did not specify a date for the visit. The offer was previously extended to Wang’s predecessor, Qin Gang, who was removed after just seven months in the position.
“In the meeting yesterday, we extended the invitation that had previously been made to the former Foreign Minister Qin Gang and made clear that that invitation did transfer over to Minister [Wang] Yi,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Tuesday.
US officials had hosted senior Chinese diplomat Yang Tao at the State Department a day earlier.
On July 25, Qin– a former ambassador to the US – was abruptly removed from his post and subsequently replaced by Wang. No reason was given for the personnel change. Qin, 57, had not been seen publicly since late June.
Wang had served as foreign minister prior to Qin and before his re-appointment, he was the director of the Chinese Communist Party’s Foreign Affairs Commission Office. He continues to serve in that role.
Source from www.aljazeera.com