US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s first visit to China on Sunday comes nearly five months after a major rupture in relations over a Chinese spy balloon.
His original trip was abruptly cancelled because the balloon, which China says was monitoring weather, drifted across the continental US before being destroyed by American military aircraft.
Mr Blinken’s visit includes meetings with China’s top foreign policy officials but there is no word yet on whether he will also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, who appeared with Microsoft founder Bill Gates in Beijing on Friday.
The two global superpowers have a long list of issues that concern them, including high-profile disagreements as well as potential areas of co-operation.
First and foremost, Mr Blinken’s visit is about re-establishing diplomatic interactions of any kind.
Last month there was an initial breaking of the ice when senior US officials met in Vienna, Austria.
But Mr Blinken is the most senior Biden administration official to travel to China, and it marks the first visit by a US secretary of state to Beijing since October 2018.
Now is a good time to be talking again because that in itself reduces the risk of conflict, said Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell, in a pre-trip briefing.
“We can’t let the disagreements that might divide us stand in the way of moving forward on the global priorities that require us all to work together.”
Full Link ( Here )
© CopyRights RawNews1st
