Antony Blinken to visit China this month in sign of easing tensions

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to China this month, in the latest sign that Beijing and Washington are beginning to stabilize a turbulent bilateral relationship that has plummeted to its lowest point in decades.

Blinken is expected to come out in the coming weeks, according to two people familiar with Blinken’s plans. Blinken abruptly canceled a visit in February in response to a suspected Chinese spy balloon flying over the US, reversing efforts to mend ties.

The US diplomat’s visit would signal renewed progress between Washington and Beijing to re-establish high-level engagement. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to try to establish a “floor” under the relationship at the G20 summit in Bali in November, but their efforts were derailed by the balloon episode.

Speaking at the G7 summit in Hiroshima last month, Biden said he expected an imminent “thaw” in relations, raising hopes that the countries had moved on from the ballooning incident.

The sides have engaged in a flurry of contacts in recent weeks. The Financial Times reported last week that CIA Director Bill Burns made a secret trip to Beijing in May, making him the most senior Biden administration official to visit China. According to two people with knowledge of the matter, his visit was at the invitation of China.

Daniel Krittenbrink, the top State Department official for East Asian affairs, and Sarah Beran, the top National Security Council official for China and Taiwan, met with their counterparts in Beijing on Monday. In statements, both sides said the talks were “frank and productive” with the aim of improving ties.

Last month, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan held two-day talks in Vienna with Wang Yi, China’s top foreign policy official. The US is also trying to arrange a telephone call between Biden and Xi after months of little progress.

China had previously refused to agree to reschedule Blinken’s visit, partly out of anger that he had canceled it in February, as well as out of concern that Washington would react to the results of the FBI investigation. Ko could embarrass Beijing by releasing it at the balloon event while it was inside. China.

In another sign of progress, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao recently met US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in Washington, in the first senior Chinese visit to Washington since January 2020. Detroit.

China’s new ambassador to the US, Xi Feng, arrived in Washington last month after a long delay following the departure of his predecessor, Qin Gang, now foreign minister.

The State Department did not confirm Blinken’s impending trip to China, saying that his trip would be rescheduled “when the situation permits”. The news of the visit was first reported by Bloomberg.

Despite signs of increasing engagement, countries are still struggling to revive military-to-military communication channels.

Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu refused to meet his US counterpart Lloyd Austin at the Shangri-La Dialogue Asia Security Forum in Singapore last week after Washington refused to lift its sanctions on Gen.

The US says the military communication channels are critical because of an increasing number of dangerous intercepts by Chinese fighters over the South China Sea. It also accused a Chinese warship of carelessly sailing near a US Navy vessel in the Taiwan Strait on Saturday.