U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Visit China in Effort to Repair Deteriorating Relationship

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to China this weekend in an effort to repair the deteriorating relationship between the United States and China. The visit was initially planned for earlier this year but was postponed after the discovery of a Chinese spy balloon over the United States.

Since then, there have been lower-level engagements between the two countries despite ongoing hostility and recriminations over their actions in the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, and China’s refusal to condemn Russia for its war.

In a briefing call Wednesday, senior U.S. officials acknowledged that the meeting comes at a “crucial time” in the relationship but downplayed expectations for major “deliverables.” Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink said, “We’re not going to Beijing with the intent of having some sort of breakthrough or transformation in the way that we deal with one another.”

This will be the first visit to China by a Secretary of State since 2018, and the first by a cabinet-level official since 2019. The Biden administration is hoping to keep lines of communication open and repair the deteriorating ties between the two countries. It is unclear what the outcome of the visit will be, but it is clear that the relationship between the two countries is in need of repair.