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US secretary of state Antony Blinken is set to meet with China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang, as part of his two-day trip to the country in a bid to rebuild relationships.
The meeting, taking place in Beijing, was supposed to happen four months ago, until a ‘Chinese spy balloon’ was spotted flying over the US.
It was initially Biden who had made the call while visiting Indonesia.
“Intense competition requires sustained diplomacy to ensure that competition does not veer into confrontation or conflict,” Blinken previously said after the incident took place, vowing to maintain a relationship with China.
However, Qin has already told the US it needs to show ‘respect’ on China’s biggest issues, including Taiwan, and that they need to ‘stop interfering’.
Blinken will be the first top US official to visit the country in five years. The last to do so was Mike Pompeo in 2018.
