US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, touched down in China early Sunday morning for a high stake diplomatic visit. Blinken's visit is the most high-profile visit by a US state official to China after Biden took charge as the President of the United States. Biden was to visit China in February this year, but the meeting was postponed after a Chinese surveillance balloon was found hovering over the US before his scheduled February visit.
Blinken is on a two day visit to China and is expected to hold high-stakes meeting with Chinese officials and diplomats with an aim to stabilize relations with China at a time when the world's largest two economies, the US and China, are having strong disagreements over a number of issues.
China's flagship newspaper 'The Global Times' tweeted a video of Blinken's arrival to Beijing.
Earlier, The White House had indicated that Blinken's trip could unlock a series of meetings between US and Chinese officials, according to news agency ANI.
Blinken to meet China's foreign minister and top diplomat
According to US officials, Blinken will meet Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Sunday. The US Secretary of State is also expected to have a meeting with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi. Reports also claimed that Blinken might meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday, however, confirmation on that is awaited.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang's telephonic conversation
A report in The Washington Post had said that China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang in a telephonic conversation with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had expressed concerns over a number of issues. The report said that China asked for the US to respect Beijing's position on Taiwan and "not to interfere into China's internal matters."
US-China disagreement over a range of issues
The US and China share disagreement over a number of issues ranging from the United States stand on Hong Kong and Taiwan, and China's military escalation in the South China Sea, among others.
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