Undoubtedly, this is one of the most closely watched meetings in the world this week as Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken to steer relations back on course after months of inflamed tensions between the world's two largest economies.

It is Blinken's first visit to China as U.S. Secretary of State. He is also the first secretary of state to travel to China in five years and the highest-level U.S. official to make such a mission since U.S. President Joe Biden took office in early 2021.

The long-overdue visit on Sunday, which had been called off in February due to a balloon incident, came as people of both sides called for maintaining channels of communication to reduce risks of miscalculation and avoid fiercer confrontation between the two countries and a large number of business people's strong opposition to the rhetoric of "decoupling."

Sunday's meeting lasted more than seven hours. A video released by China Media Group shows the two sides meeting while it was still light at about 2:30 p.m. and Blinken's team leaving the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse after dark.

Both sides said in their press releases that they had "candid, substantive and constructive" talks. 

What exactly did they talk about? Here are some key takeaways from their meeting.

China-U.S. relations

The China-U.S. relationship is at the "lowest point" in history since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, Qin said, according to the press release issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. The current tensions do not serve the fundamental interests of the two peoples or meet the shared expectations of the international community, he added.

The minister then brought up the three guiding principles, namely mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, saying the principles should be the spirit jointly upheld, the red line jointly defended, and the goal jointly pursued by both sides.

Explainer: What are Beijing's three principles for China-U.S. relations?

He said China is committed to building a stable, predictable and constructive relationship with the U.S. and hopes the U.S. will adopt an objective and rational perception of China, work with China in the same direction, and handle unexpected and sporadic events in a calm, professional and rational manner. 

The news release didn't mention the balloon incident, in which the U.S. military shot down a Chinese civilian weather balloon after it veered off course and was spotted over U.S. airspace, but it's worth mentioning that before it was shot down, Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, had held a phone conversation with Blinken, suggesting that the U.S. side deal with the unexpected incident calmly and professionally.

The balloon incident further intensified China-U.S. relations, and Blinken canceled his Beijing visit that was scheduled for February. However, in a recent interview, Biden admitted that the balloon incident was "more embarrassing than it was intentional."

In his talk with Blinken, Qin said China and U.S. should deliver on the common understandings reached by President Xi and President Biden at G20 Bali Summit last November and work to stabilize and steer the relations back on the right track.

The Taiwan question

Qin and Blinken inevitably touched on the Taiwan question.

"The Taiwan question is the core of China's core interests, the most consequential issue and the most pronounced risk in the China-U.S. relationship," Qin said, reiterating China's position on the region.

He also urged the U.S. side to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, in which the U.S. government acknowledged that "there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China."

Qin also expressed hope that the U.S. side can truly deliver on its commitment of not supporting "Taiwan independence."

Blinken's Beijing visit: Where are China-U.S. relations heading?

Several agreements reached

Although neither country had set high expectations for Blinken's visit, the two sides did reach several important agreements after their constructive talk.

They both agreed to jointly implement the important common understandings reached by the two presidents in Bali, effectively manage differences, and advance dialogue, exchanges and cooperation.

They also agreed to maintain high-level interactions. Blinken invited Qin to visit Washington D.C., which he accepted, expressing his readiness to visit at a mutually convenient time.

Besides, both sides agreed to keep moving forward consultations on the guiding principles of China-U.S. relations and through the joint working group to address specific issues in the relations.

Another thing that the two sides agreed on was the need to facilitate more people-to-people and educational exchanges and expand flights between the two countries. Both sides welcomed more mutual visits by students, scholars and business people and agreed to provide support to this end.

On the whole, despite profound differences still existing between China and the U.S., Sunday's meeting was candid and resulted in progress on several fronts, with both sides showing a desire to reduce tensions. Analysts say no one expects the two countries to solve all their difficult issues through one or two meetings, but it's important for them to start the conversation.