US diplomats in Beijing ahead of critical visit

The delegation, which includes White House National Security Council Director for China and Taiwan Laura Rosenberger, is expected to hold talks in preparation for Blinken’s visit.

The group, which will visit South Korea and Japan after China, is the first high-level diplomatic visit to Beijing after US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the Indonesian island of Bali on November 14th.

During the meeting between Biden and Xi, it was decided to keep the communication channels between the two countries open and that Foreign Minister Blinken would visit China.

In a statement from the US State Department, it was noted that the visit was aimed at “maintaining the responsible management of competition between the two countries and exploring potential areas of cooperation.”

Following the Biden-Shi meeting, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Vey Finghi held a face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the extended Defense Ministerial Meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) last month.

Climate representatives from the two countries also met at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 27), held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, last month. (AA)