The Blinken/Yellen/Kerry Visits: Expectations, Outcomes, and What to Watch for Next

• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Beijing last month for meetings with then-Foreign Minister Qin Gang and President Xi Jinping. The goal of the trip was to “put a floor” under the China– US relationship which has been in free-fall for several years. It appears to have worked.

• Blinken’s meeting was followed by visits by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Climate Envoy John Kerry. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Commerce Secretary Janet Raimondo are expected to visit in the next month.

• From here, the goal is:

Ø Arranging Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to visit – which is problematic as the US placed sanctions on China’s Minister of National Defense, General Li Shangfu, for purchasing Russian arms in 2018.

Ø Laying out a time-line for an Xi-Biden phone call or series of calls.

Ø Helping to facilitate a major role for President Xi at the APEC Leaders Meeting in San Francisco in November 2023 and possible State Visit to Washington immediately afterward.