The State Department of the United States confirmed that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will visit China. It was postponed due to the detection of a Chinese high-altitude balloon over military facilities in Montana in February 2023.
In Beijing, Blinken will meet with high-ranking officials of the Peopleʼs Republic of China, with whom he will "discuss the importance of maintaining open lines of communication for the responsible management of relations between the United States and China."
The state secretary also plans to raise bilateral issues "of concern." Global and regional issues will also be considered.
At the same time, a senior diplomat of the State Department for East Asian Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink told Reuters reporters that Washington does not expect a breakthrough in relations with China after this visit. Instead, it relies on a realistic approach to managing competition between countries.
Chinese media Global Times clarifies that Blinken will visit China from June 18 to 19.
- On February 3, after the incident with the balloon , the White House decided to postpone the already agreed visit of the head of the US State Department Anthony Blinken to China. It was supposed to be the first visit of the American Secretary of State to Beijing in five years.
- Tensions in relations between China and the United States have increased since Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on August 3, 2022 for an official one-day visit. She became the highest-ranking US politician to visit Taiwan since 1997. In protest, China imposed sanctions on Pelosi and began four days of military exercises surrounding Taiwan. After these exercises, he announced new ones and declared that they would be "regular" from now on. Taiwan said the latest drills were like a "rehearsal for taking over the island".
- Taiwanʼs foreign ministry has said it does not agree with the "one country, two systems" model proposed by China, and President Biden has said the US will defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.
- CIA Director Bill Burns made a secret visit to China in May for talks with officials as Washington pushes for high-level engagement with Beijing to stabilize relations.