The Washington Post stated that Antony Blinken landed in China on Sunday (local time), making him the first US Secretary of State to visit Beijing in the previous five years.
Blinken is anticipated to hold a crucial meeting to help stabilise a relationship under considerable strain during his two-day visit to China. His hosts repeatedly criticised the United States in the run-up to the contentious visit, saying that Washington was indulging in “irresponsible bullying” and had the “illusion” that it could deal with China from a “position of strength.” Earlier, China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang, during the telephonic conversation with Blinken, warned that he should “show respect” for Beijing’s position on Taiwan and also made clear that America must stop interfering in China’s internal affairs, reported The Washington Post.
Even after this, Blinken showed hope for maintaining open channels of communication as well as bilateral and global issues.
Last month, President Joe Biden predicted a thaw in China’s anger over the US downing of its high-altitude surveillance balloon in February. The White House has indicated that Blinken’s trip could unlock a series of meetings between US and Chinese officials, including a leader-to-leader engagement with President Xi Jinping.
“I’m hoping that over the next several months I’ll be meeting with Xi again, and talking about legitimate differences we have but also how to get along,” Biden told reporters before leaving for Philadelphia. Blinken arrived early in the morning with a packed schedule, including meetings with Gang, Wang Yi, the head of the Communist Party’s foreign policy, US business executives, staffers from the American embassy, exchange students, and possibly Xi personally, according to The Washington Post. According to the State Department’s statement, Secretary Blinken will meet with senior PRC officials where he will discuss the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to responsibly manage the US-PRC relationship. He will also raise bilateral issues of concern, global and regional matters, and potential cooperation on shared transnational challenges. It is important to note that prior plans for his travel to China in February 2023 were shelved when the Biden administration expressed outrage about a purported Chinese spy balloon flying over the United States.