U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded a long-anticipated visit to China yesterday. He also met Chinese President Xi Jinpingin the last leg of his visit after two days of talks with other senior officials. His meeting with the Chinese President was only confirmed by the U.S. State Department shortly before it took place. The visit was an attempt to repair the deteriorating relationship between the two countries, which Blinken had described as "one of the most consequential in the world." Antony Blinken is the first U.S. Secretary of State to visit China since 2018… and he is also the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit China since President Joe Biden took office. Blinken's trip had aimed to built on previous meetings between the officials of the two nations. In May, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan had met China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, in Austria. That was followed up by a visit from top Chinese commerce officials to Washington, D.C. But the progress, at best, was mixed. Earlier this month, China's defense chief Li Shangfu had rejected a meeting request from U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin because the U.S. had sanctioned Li in 2018 for procuring Russian-made weapons for the Chinese military.

#Blinkenxijinping #Antonyblinkenchinavisit #Xijingpingantonyblinken
~PR.153~HT.96~