Blinken Plans Beijing Trip for Next Week.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is planning to visit Beijing as early as next week, marking the highest-level visit of a US official to China since 2018. The State Department is still finalizing details for the trip, which will follow Blinken's current visit to the Middle East. The Biden administration has been working to renew high-level diplomatic and military communication with China, and one of the goals of a recent visit by Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink and National Security Council senior director for China and Taiwan Affairs Sarah Beran was to discuss the potential for future visits.