China FM declines to comment on Blinken's potential visit to China
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Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that Antony Blinken would be visiting Beijing to meet with senior Chinese officials, and would potentially meet President Xi Jinping.
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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin speaks during a regular press conference in Beijing, on May 9, 2023 (AP)
Wang Wenbin, the spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, neither confirmed nor denied news reports about an expected visit by Secretary Antony Blinken to China.
"I don't have any information to share with you on this matter," Wang said at a briefing.
Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that Antony Blinken would be visiting Beijing to meet with senior Chinese officials, and would potentially meet President Xi Jinping.
Blinken was scheduled to visit Beijing back in February however his visit was canceled after the balloon incident when the US accused China of aerially spying on the US. Since then Washington has expressed interest in rescheduling another visit.
Read more: China shoots down US initiatives for dialogue revival: Politico
Yesterday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on a trip to strengthen strained ties with the kingdom.
Blinken's three-day visit will also focus on efforts to end the war in Sudan and Yemen, the alleged battle against the so-called Islamic State (IS), as well the normalization process with the Israeli occupation, AFP reported.
The top US diplomat's visit comes a couple of months after a Chinese-brokered agreement that restored diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia and the restoration of relations between Riyadh and Damascus, 12 years after the war on Syria erupted.
Blinken landed in Jeddah on Tuesday evening and is expected to meet Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, AFP cited a US official as saying.
Read more: We do not prioritize China over US: Saudi Investment Minister
Back in early April, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley warned that China is on a course to becoming "militarily superior" to the United States with an unstoppable nuclear program and missiles that could reach the US mainland.
Addressing the House Armed Services Committee during a hearing on the 2024 budget of the Department of Defense, the top US General claimed that China aims to become a “global coequal” to the United States and surpass the US army's capabilities by 2049.
“They’re on that path to do that, and that’s really disturbing,” he told the Congress Committee. “That’s really bothersome. And we’re going to have to not only keep pace, but we have to outpace that, and that will assure the peace.”
There is little the US can do to “stop, slow down, disrupt, interdict, or destroy" China's nuclear program, he added.
Milley's statement aligned with that of the US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, who warned Congress on Tuesday that Beijing's advancement of its nuclear capabilities was the most “disturbing” military threat he witnessed in his career spanning over 50 years.
