US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Beijing, starting off a two-day meeting with Chinese officials on June 18, reports Reuters.
Qin greeted Blinken at the Diaoyutai State Guest House, an elegant estate that frequently welcomes visiting dignitaries.
The two shook hands as they stood in front of their respective flags, then sat down at long tables with their delegates to begin their meetings.
The businesslike welcome emphasized the cold relations that have evolved between the two superpowers in recent years.
The US has been reducing expectations for the trip, and both countries have stated that no significant breakthroughs are expected.
The goal, according to US officials, is to reestablish high-level communication lines and stabilize relations that have become strained since the balloon incident.
China has conducted military drills near Taiwan, which Beijing considers to be an important part of China. Taiwan's democratically elected government has close connections with the United States.
The American delegation expects to hear about the Ukraine crisis, trade disputes over modern computer technologies, the US fentanyl drug epidemic, and Chinese human rights violations.
Chinese officials reacted coolly to Blinken's visit, questioning whether the United States is earnest in its efforts to repair relations.
It is unknown whether he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Blinken is the highest-ranking US official to visit China since President Joe Biden's inauguration in January 2021.
A meeting between President Biden and Xi Jinping in Bali in November temporarily alleviated fears of a new Cold War, but high-level communication between the two leaders has been infrequent since the balloon incident.
Blinken was supposed to visit China in February, but the trip got cancelled as Chinese spy balloon was shot down over the US five months ago on February 4 in Surfside Beach, South Carolina. However, relationships between the two countries were tense prior to that issue, since the 2018-2019 trade war.
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