Antony Blinken meets Chinese foreign minister in Beijing in bid to reboot relations

US secretary of state Antony Blinken has met China’s foreign minister Qin Gang in Beijing as part of a highly anticipated mission to reboot the two countries’ relations, which cratered after an alleged Chinese spy balloon flew over North America.

Blinken is the first secretary of state to visit China since 2018, a reflection of Beijing’s strict coronavirus pandemic lockdowns, but also of how US-China ties have plummeted to their…