Task 1

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken kicked off talks with senior Chinese officials
in Beijing on Sunday at the start of a high-stakes visit meant to steer relations
back on course after months of inflamed tensions between the world’s two
largest economies.

Blinken is the first secretary of state to travel to China in five years and the most
senior US official to make such a mission since President Joe Biden took office in
early 2021.

Observers will be closely watching for whether a meeting with Chinese leader Xi
Jinping is on the cards. Previous trips by America’s top diplomat have often
involved a face to face with China’s top leader, but relations are at their lowest in
decades.

Officials from both governments have signaled low expectations for the visit, with
a senior State Department official telling reporters earlier this week that he does
not expect “a long list of deliverables.”

Instead, US officials are framing the trip as an effort to resume normal channels
of communication with China in order to avoid conflict between two of the globe’s
great powers.

“What we’re working to do on this trip is to really carry forward what President
Biden and President Xi agreed to in Bali at the end of last year, which was to
establish sustained, regular lines of communication at senior levels across our
governments precisely so that we can make sure that we are communicating as
clearly as possible to avoid, as best possible, misunderstandings and
miscommunications,” Blinken said Friday prior to his departure.
Task 2

Secretary Blinken’s Visit to the People’s Republic of China (PRC)

The following is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken traveled to Beijing, the People’s Republic of

China for meetings with President Xi Jinping, Director of the CCP Central Foreign
Affairs Office Wang Yi, and State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang
from June 18-19.

The two sides had candid, substantive, and constructive discussions on key
priorities in the bilateral relationship and on a range of global and regional issues.
The Secretary emphasized the importance of maintaining open channels of
communication across the full range of issues to reduce the risk of miscalculation.
He made clear that while we will compete vigorously, the United States will
responsibly manage that competition so that the relationship does not veer into
conflict. The Secretary stressed that the United States would continue to use
diplomacy to raise areas of concern as well as areas of potential cooperation
where our interests align.

The two sides agreed to continue discussions on developing principles to guide

the bilateral relationship, as discussed by President Biden and President Xi in
Bali. They also welcomed ongoing efforts to address specific issues in the bilateral
relationship, and encouraged further progress, including through the joint
Working Groups. Noting the importance of ties between the people of the United
States and the PRC, both sides welcomed strengthening people-to-people
exchanges between students, scholars, and business. This includes a
commitment to working to increase the number of direct flights between the two
countries.

Secretary Blinken emphasized that it remains a priority for the United States to
resolve the cases of American citizens who are wrongfully detained or subject to
exit bans in China. He underscored the importance of working together to disrupt
the global flow of synthetic drugs and their precursor chemicals into the United
States, which fuels the fentanyl crisis.

The Secretary addressed the PRC’s unfair and nonmarket economic practices and
recent actions against U.S. firms. He discussed U.S. de-risking policies and the
historic domestic investments the Administration has made. The Secretary raised
concerns about PRC human rights violations in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong, as
well as individual cases of concern. He emphasized that the United States will
always stand up for our values.

The Secretary underscored the importance of maintaining peace and stability

across the Taiwan Strait and reiterated there has been no change to the U.S. one
China policy, based on the Taiwan Relations Act, the three Joint Communiques,
and the Six Assurances.