Despite the tension, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Beijing in June and was received there by head of state and party leader Xi Jinping. The first visit by a US Secretary of State since 2018 and meetings with senior Chinese officials was an attempt to reopen channels of communication with Beijing.
High level meeting after a long radio silence
Xi said there had been progress and that agreements had been reached on certain issues. He hopes that the meeting will make a positive contribution to stabilizing relations. The interview with Blinken reportedly lasted about half an hour. The US Secretary of State then spoke of an important conversation.
