Amid reports Blinken will meet Xi in China, US says visit aims to avoid ‘something more dangerous’

State Department, coy on top American envoy’s Beijing schedule, stresses both ‘collaborative’ and ‘potentially conflictual elements’ to be discussed

US seeks to ensure that the competition at the heart of its relationship with China ‘isn’t in a position to spiral into conflict’, says spokesman

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks in Chicago, Illinois, in January. America’s top diplomat is expected to visit China on February 5-6. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:48am, 3 Feb 2023Updated: 6:30am, 3 Feb 2023

Amid reports US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping during a two-day visit to Beijing next week, the State Department on Thursday remained evasive about the envoy’s possible audience with the Chinese leader, instead highlighting that the trip aims to keep bilateral tensions from leading to something “much more dangerous”.

“I don’t have anything else to offer on the secretary’s planned trip,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said when asked about Blinken’s potential meeting with Xi.

But Price said “when we have an opportunity to sit down” both “collaborative” and “potentially conflictual elements” of the relationship would be discussed.

No US secretary of state has met with Xi since 2017.

Price said the US sought to ensure the competition at the heart of its relationship with China “isn’t in a position to spiral into conflict” and that what “our two countries are doing in the world” does not “veer into something potentially much more dangerous”.

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