U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Beijing on Sunday morning, becoming the first top American diplomat to visit China in nearly five years, in a bid to tamp down soaring tensions between the two superpowers.
Blinken and a coterie of officials met with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang later in the day, talks that were to be followed by a smaller meeting and dinner, after a planned February visit to Beijing was canceled when it was revealed that a suspected Chinese spy balloon had been flying over the U.S.
Qin met Blinken and a group of U.S. officials at Beijing's Diaoyutai State Guest House, as the two made small talk in English before shaking hands in front Chinese and American flags before kicking off their meeting.
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