BEIJING: The United States and China agreed on Sunday to expand dialogue to try to bring relations back from historic lows, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken held what officials called candid talks on soaring tensions during a rare trip to Beijing.

The highest-ranking US visitor to Beijing in nearly five years, Blinken spoke to his Chinese counterpart for seven and a half hours an hour more than expected at an ornate state villa, including over a banquet dinner.

The two sides said Foreign Minister Qin Gang agreed to pay a return visit to Washington at a later date and that the two top diplomats would work together to expand flights between the world`s two largest economies, which remain at a bare minimum since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Blinken stressed `the importance of diplomacy and maintaining open channels of communication across the full range of issues to reduce the risk of misperception and miscalculation`, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, calling the talks `candid, substantive and constructive`.

Blinken will hold a second day of meetings on Monday and address reporters before leaving.

He and Qin made no comments on their first day as they shook hands at the state guesthouse before their respective flags in front of a painting of craggy mountains and wispy clouds.

Behind closed doors, Qin told Blinken that relations between the United States and China `are at the lowest point since the establishment of diplomatic relations,` according to state-run broadcaster CCTV.

But he issued a warning on Taiwan, the self-ruling democracy claimed by Beijing, which has launched live-fire military drills twice near the island since August in anger over actions by top US lawmakers.

A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the discussions went beyond the usual talking points, including on Taiwan.

Blinken was originally scheduled to visit in February but abruptly scrapped his plans as the United States protested andlater shot down-what it said was a Chinese spy balloon flying over its soil.

Keeping allies close As part of the Bidenadministration`s focus on keeping allies close, Blinken spoke by telephone with his counterparts from both Japan and South Korea during his 20-hour trans-Pacific journey and met in Washington before departure with Singapore`s foreign minister.

Biden`s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, travelled to Tokyo for separate threeway meetings involving Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.

Blinken is the first top US diplomat to visit Beijing since a stop in 2018 by his predecessor Mike Pompeo, who later championed no-holdsbarred confrontation with Chinain the Enalyears of Donald Trump`s presidency.

The Biden administration has gone further than Trump in some areas, notably with semiconductor sanctions, but has remained open to cooperation in limited areas such as climate.

Experts say China sees more predictability with Biden than with Trump, who is running for re-election next year.AFP