U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has arrived in Beijing, scheduled to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Sunday, Bloomberg reported.
“According to a senior State Department official who briefed reporters in Tokyo on his way to China, a smaller meeting was to be followed by dinner. Blinken may also meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and give a speech at a news conference before he leaves,” the website said.
It noted that Blinken is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit China in the past five years.
The main purpose of the secretary of state’s visit is to try to rebuild high-level channels of communication with Chinese counterparts, including between the U.S. and Chinese militaries, to deal with the intense competition between the two countries, the senior official said.
Earlier Saturday, U.S. President Joe Biden said he “hopes to meet with Xi again in the next few months.”
