American Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Beijing Sunday morning on a mission to defuse tensions between the U.S. and China.
The trip marks the first time a U.S. secretary of state has set foot in China in five years. The last one was former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in 2018.
Blinken is also the highest-ranking government official from the Biden administration to visit China since the president took office in January 2021.
The first Chinese official Blinken is set to meet with is Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Sunday afternoon. The secretary of state is slated to meet top diplomat Wang Yi on Monday.
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken waves before boarding a plane for his travel to China, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, June 16, 2023. (Leah Millis/Pool Photo via AP)
Blinken may meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday as well, but their meeting has not been confirmed.
President Joe Biden and Xi agreed to Blinken’s trip after the two met in Bali last year.
Blinken’s visit was meant to happen in February, but was delayed due to foreign tensions over various Chinese spy balloon incidents in the U.S.
U.S. and Chinese officials have sparred over a variety of issues, including human rights in Hong Kong and Chinese military aggression towards neighbors in the South China Sea.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference with Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan at the State Department, Friday, June 16, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
However, Blinken said on Friday that Biden and Xi agreed to improve messaging “precisely so that we can make sure we are communicating as clearly as possible to avoid possible misunderstandings and miscommunications.”
In a conversation with Microsoft founder Bill Gates on Friday, Xi hinted at being open to negotiations with the American officials.
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FILE: China’s President Xi Jinping arrives to attend the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC summit, Nov. 19, 2022, in Bangkok, Thailand. (Jack Taylor/Pool Photo via AP)
“I believe that the foundation of Sino-U.S. relations lies in the people,” Xi said to Gates. “Under the current world situation, we can carry out various activities that benefit our two countries, the people of our countries, and the entire human race.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.