Xi and Blinken exchange warm words while refusing to budge

Aside from mutual declarations of progress, neither Blinken (left) nor Xi seemed to budge on topics such as trade, human rights and the war in Ukraine. Photograph: Leah Millis/AP

Antony Blinken’s meeting with Xi Jinping on Monday may have lasted only 35 minutes, but both sides insisted that it represented progress in the strained relationship. The two men exchanged warm words while both refusing to budge on their respective core interests.

That the US secretary of state was able to meet China’s leader at all was a diplomatic coup for the highly anticipated visit. Blinken is the highest-ranking US official to visit Beijing since 2018, but until he arrived in the Chinese capital it was not confirmed that he would meet China’s leader.