Blinken meets China’s Xi in effort to ease Washington-Beijing tensions 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday in an effort to stabilize the relationship between Washington and Beijing.

Blinken kicked off meetings in China during his high-stakes trip to the country Sunday amid rising tensions between the two countries. Ahead of their meeting Monday, Xi said progress has been made on certain issues, but it is unclear what those issues may be.

“The Chinese side has made our decision clear, and the two sides have agreed to follow through the common understandings President Biden and I had reached in Bali,” Xi said. “The two sides have also made progress and reached agreement on some specific issues. This is very good.” 

“It’s safe to say that interactions should always be based on mutual respect and sincerity.  I hope that through this visit, Mr. Secretary, you will make more positive contributions to stabilizing China-U.S. relations,” Xi added.

The relationship between the United States and China has been strained as the countries have faced multiple crises, including close military confrontations in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, the surveillance balloon incident last February and recent reporting that China has been spying on the U.S. from Cuba for years.

In his remarks ahead of their meeting on Monday, Blinken said the U.S. is “committed” to working on its relationship with China, adding that his talks with other Chinese officials over his two-day trip were “candid and constructive.” He also said he appreciated the “opportunity to discuss the way forward” with Xi.

“President Biden asked me to travel to Beijing because he believes that the United States and China have an obligation and responsibility to manage our relationship,” he added. “The United States is committed to doing that.  It’s in the interest of the United States, in the interests of China, and in the interest of the world.”

Blinken, who met with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Sunday, also met with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, during his trip and said that they discussed a “broad range of both bilateral and global issues.”

Blinken’s trip to Beijing comes after he canceled an initial trip in February over the Chinese surveillance balloon that flew over the continental U.S. before being shot down. With this trip, he has become the first secretary of State to travel to China in five years.