Blinken to meet Xi on final day of talks in Beijing

U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping before he departs Beijing on Monday after a two-day visit, Chinese state media reports.

This is the first trip by a U.S. secretary of state to China since 2018.

Blinken had met earlier in the day with China’s top foreign policy official, Wang Yi.

The last-minute announcement that Xi would talk to Blinken was seen as a special gesture, and a sign that Beijing aimed to cool the soaring tensions between the rival powers. (dpa/NAN)