tensions between world’s two superpowers

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken kicked off talks with senior Chinese officials in Beijing on Sunday at the start of a high-stakes visit meant to steer relations back on course after months of inflamed tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

Blinken is the first secretary of state to travel to China in five years and the most senior US official to make such a mission since President Joe Biden took office in early 2021.

Observers will be closely watching for whether a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping is on the cards. Previous trips by America’s top diplomat have often involved a face to face with China’s top leader, but relations are at their lowest in decades.

Officials from both governments have signaled low expectations  for the visit, with a senior State Department official telling reporters earlier this week that he does not expect “a long list of deliverables.”Instead, US officials are framing the trip as an effort to resume normal channels of communication with China in order to avoid conflict between two of the globe’s great powers.

Last edited by Spunky (6/18/2023 7:17 pm)