U.S. Secretary of State Blinken starts his long-due Beijing visit

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Beijing on Sunday, starting a two-day visit to China.

It is Blinken's first visit to China as secretary of state, and he is also the highest-level U.S. official to visit China since October 2018.

While Blinken is in Beijing, the two sides will raise issues of bilateral concern, discuss global and regional matters, and the Chinese side will also expound on its position and concerns on China-U.S. relations and "resolutely safeguard its own interests," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Friday.

According to Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, Blinken will meet senior officials to discuss the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to responsibly manage the relationship, and will also discuss potential cooperation on shared transnational challenges.

Hours before the two sides simultaneously confirmed the visit on Wednesday night, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang spoke with Blinken over the phone.

During their conversation, Qin expressed hope that the U.S. can work with China to effectively manage differences, and promote cooperation, so as to bring the China-U.S. relationship back to the track of sound and steady development.

Qin also reiterated China's position on the Taiwan question, urging the U.S. to stop interfering in China's internal affairs and stop undermining China's sovereignty, security and development interests in the name of competition.