US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Shanghai, China yesterday for a three-day visit, during which he will have talks with senior officials and possibly President Xi Jinping.
Washington’s top diplomat is expected to discuss a host of “bilateral, regional and global issues” with the Chinese side, including the conflict in Ukraine, as well as challenges concerning Taiwan and the South China Sea.
Talks will also include efforts to bring about bilateral cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence, military-to-military communication and counternarcotics.
Blinken held talks today with Chen Jining, the Chinese government’s top official in Shanghai, where he spoke about longstanding US grievances over China’s trade and economic practices. According to Reuters, Blinken told Chen that “the United States seeks a healthy economic competition with the PRC and a level playing field for US workers and firms operating in China.”
[See more: ‘It’s getting harder’ for US companies in China, AmCham report finds]
On Friday, Blinken is due to make the trip to Beijing where he is scheduled to meet with his counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi. No official announcements have been made yet on whether or not he will hold talks with President Xi.
The Secretary of State’s trip is happening as Sino-US relations continue to sour, with disagreements over many areas such as Taiwan, the South China Sea and China’s support relations with Russia.
Blinken’s trip also comes shortly after other high-level engagement between the two countries earlier this month, which included a call between President Joe Biden and President Xi, as well as a six-day trip to China by the Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen.
