China’s Xi Hails “Progress” After Meeting With Blinken

June 19, 2023 China, United States

China’s Xi Jinping hailed “progress” in talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Beijing on Monday, the final engagement of a closely-watched trip aimed at ensuring the superpower’s disputes do not spiral into conflict.

Blinken, the first holder of his post to meet the Chinese leader since 2018, strode towards Xi with his hand outstretched at the Great Hall of the People, a venue China often uses for greeting heads of state – positive signals in the choreography of diplomacy.

The two shook hands, then the delegations faced each other across a conference table bedecked with pink lotus flowers, with Xi at the head and Blinken just to his right. Their roughly 30-minute meeting could help facilitate a summit between Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden later in the year.

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“Welcome to China”

Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as the pair meet in Beijing https://t.co/bHR1zwQU0w pic.twitter.com/SbmgZdiRu1

— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) June 19, 2023

“The two sides have also made progress and reached agreements on some specific issues” — Chinese President Xi Jinping tells US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that it’s “very good” the nations made progress in steadying ties https://t.co/wuwKUPFJGE pic.twitter.com/6uTi8iS731

— Bloomberg (@business) June 19, 2023