U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards his plane for travel to Berlin at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, June 22, 2021.
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Beijing this week to meet with senior Chinese officials, the State Department announced Wednesday.
After Beijing, Blinken will then travel to London to meet with his counterparts from the U.K. and Ukraine.
The trip follows an overnight call between Blinken and China's state councilor and foreign minister, Qin Gang.
Tensions between Beijing and Washington have intensified over China's territorial expansion in the South China Sea, aggression toward Taiwan, allegations of espionage and human rights abuses.
Persons:
Antony Blinken, Matt Miller, Blinken, Qin, Jake Sullivan, Wang Yi
Organizations:
Joint Base Andrews, WASHINGTON —, State Department, Qin
Locations:
Berlin, Joint Base Andrews , Maryland, Beijing, China, U.S, London, Ukraine, Washington, South China, Taiwan, Vienna