US officials announced on Friday (06.09.2023) that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will travel to China next week, to reschedule a visit to Beijing that he canceled in February after the alleged Chinese observation balloon incident.
Blinken is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on June 18, the first trip to China by a US top diplomat since his predecessor Mike Pompeo did so in October 2018, US officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The State Department has not officially announced the trip. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said recently that the United States may announce the visit of senior officials in the “near future,” without elaborating.
Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping met in Bali in November and agreed to try to prevent escalating tensions between the two countries from spiraling out of control, including sending Blinken to Beijing.
The secretary of state canceled a trip scheduled for early February after the United States discovered — and then shot down — a Chinese surveillance balloon on its soil, infuriating members of Congress and banishing Beijing.
Recently, however, the two countries have sought to keep tensions in check, including a lengthy closed-door meeting between Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in Vienna last month.
gs (AFP, Reuters)
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