Following his arrival in Beijing for talks aimed at easing tensions between the two nations, Antony Blinken has made history by becoming the first US secretary of state to visit China in five years.
The sessions, which will last for two days, started today when Mr. Blinken met with Qin Gang, the Chinese foreign minister.
The secretary of state will continue her conversations with Mr. Qin, as well as China’s top diplomat Wang Yi and perhaps President Xi Jinping, tomorrow. A working dinner is scheduled for later in the day.
The negotiations’ ability to bridge the growing gap between the leaders of the two greatest economies in the world is widely doubted.
The list of disagreements is long, with issues such as trade with Taiwan, accusations of genocide against Uyghur Muslims, and Russia’s war in Ukraine all causing splits.
Among the points expected to be raised by Mr Blinken in the discussions are the export of fentanyl precursors that are contributing to the US opioid epidemic and the potential release of American citizens detained in China.
However, neither side has hinted that there is much room for negotiation.
In a recent meeting with US billionaire Bill Gates, Mr Xi did suggest he supported a broad target of improving relations, saying cooperation would ‘benefit our two countries’.
He told Mr 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.’
On Saturday, President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House that he hoped ‘over the next several months, I’ll be meeting with Xi again and talking about legitimate differences we have, but also how… to get along.’
The current visit is the second attempt this year, after talks were cancelled within a day of Mr Blinken flying out in February following the diplomatic tumult caused by the discovery of what the US said was a Chinese spy balloon flying over its land.
The balloon was later shot down off the coast of South Carolina, ending an incident that significantly soured an already tense political relationship.
Since then, some efforts have been made to improve the diplomatic situation, with Mr Biden’s CIA chief William Burns travelling to China last month while the Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao visited Washington.
The last time a US secretary of state visited Beijing was in October 2018, when Donald Trump’s top diplomat Mike Pompeo received a frosty reception.
Mr Pompeo was later sanctioned by China after leaving office, with Beijing citing high-profile arms sales to Taiwan by the Trump administration.