Chinese foreign ministry welcomes visit by U.S. Secretary Blinken

Reuters:

BEIJING, Jan 17 – China welcomes a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the country, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said at a regular news briefing on Tuesday.

“China welcomes Secretary of State Blinken’s visit to China. Both China and the United States are in communication now over the specific arrangements,” Wang Wenbin said, responding to a question on a U.S. media report that Blinken is visiting China on Feb. 5.

“(China) also hopes the United States will adopt a correct view of China, uphold dialogue rather than confrontation, win-win rather than zero-sum (thinking),” Wang added.

Politico reported that Blinken will meet in Beijing with his counterpart, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, on Feb. 5-6.

Blinken’s February visit to China would be the first by a secretary of state since October 2018 when Mike Pompeo, under the Trump administration, met then-foreign minister Wang Yi in Beijing, with the two dignitaries exchanging pointed remarks amid an escalating trade war.