ALBAWABA - United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday, as he wraps up his long-delayed trip to Beijing.
With this trip, Blinken becomes the first U.S. Secretary of State to visit China in five years and the highest-ranking American official from Biden's administration to do so.
Blinken had “candid, substantive, and constructive talks” with Qin, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said in a statement Sunday. He raised concerns as well as “opportunities to explore cooperation,” and he emphasized the importance of open communication, according to the statement, CNBC reported.
U.S.-Chinese ties have been under the weather for years now, as the U.S. slapped China with a bundle of sanctions over the past couple of years, most importantly sanctions that lead to pushing semiconductor tech experts to limit their dealing with Chinese companies.
Blinken invited his Chinese counterpart to visit the U.S. to continue discussing enhancing bilateral relations between the nations at a time “mutually suitable”.
