Blinken meets with China’s top diplomat as specter of war in Middle East looms

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Thursday with global tensions extremely high as the Israel-Hamas war continues and the US seeks to avoid it spreading to the wider Middle East.

In brief remarks welcoming Wang to the State Department, Blinken said he looked forward to “constructive conversations over the next few days.”

The Biden administration has sought to re-establish normal diplomatic ties with China after an incredibly fraught period, most notably over the Chinese surveillance balloon incident. Blinken and a number of other cabinet officials have traveled to China in recent months.