After Months of Cold Shoulder, China Welcomes Antony Blinken to Beijing

While preparing for Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit, China’s leadership has had its sights on two sets of audiences other than the U.S. 

On Sunday, Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang had seven-and-a-half hours of direct talks and a dinner meeting on a host of topics, with the two agreeing to work together on increasing the number of flights between the U.S. and China, a senior state department official said.

Yet before Blinken arrived in Beijing on Sunday morning, the first visit by an American cabinet-level official since 2019, Chinese officials, state media and academics have all played up the notion that it is the U.S. side that has been the most eager to meet.

Behind the scenes, however, Beijing has had its own reasons for detente with the U.S.: Chinese officials have said a priority for Beijing this year is to pave the way for top leader Xi Jinping to attend an annual summit of Asia-Pacific leaders to be held in San Francisco in November—and possibly a separate meeting with President Biden.