On Tuesday, US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said that the united states are "ready to talk" with China and hope that Beijing can meet them halfway. 

On the other hand, Burns did not say when Secretary of State Antony will visit China, which was postponed in February and is supposed to be rescheduled.

During a virtual session at the Stimson Center, Burns said that their view is that they need better and deeper channels between the two governments, and they are ready to talk. He added that they have never been shy of talking and hope the Chinese will meet them halfway.

PHOTO | COURTESY  Nicholas Burns

According to Burns, Blinken's trip to China will be postponed to when the conditions are favourable. He also claimed that the United States is ready for broader participation at the cabinet level.

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Burns stated that predicting when this engagement would occur again is impossible, but they have never supported an icing of this relationship. Burns' words come after a tumultuous year in Washington-Beijing ties.

Tensions rose after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan and a Chinese surveillance balloon passed over the US, prompting Blinken to cancel his scheduled trip to China.

PHOTO | COURTESY  Chinas Xi Jinping

The ambassador, on the other hand, noted that following China's Party Congress, he was able to have good discussions with Chinese leaders Qin Gang and Wang Yi, and referred to a meeting President Joe Biden's had with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bali as a very positive, fruitful interaction.

He stated that the US has been urging China to reopen all channels that had been closed during Pelosi's visit to Taiwan and that the US and China "have not had a productive exchange on the fentanyl issue."

The ambassador also stated that the US wants China to press Russia to cease its war in Ukraine. The meeting between Xi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was "a good first step."