US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Beijing today for a two-day visit, the first by a US secretary of state to China since October 2018, in an effort to ease tensions in Sino-US relations.

The US Secretary of State had postponed his trip to China in February in the shadow of the crisis triggered by the downing of a Chinese balloon that entered US airspace, which Washington described as “espionage” while Beijing argued that it was “serving scientific purposes”.

During his two-day visit to Beijing, Blinken will hold talks with Chinese diplomatic chiefs and may also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The eyes of the international community are on Beijing, since any escalation in relations between the two superpowers has a potential impact in various areas: from financial markets, to international trade, to the global supply chain.

“There is mutual recognition that it is necessary to maintain channels of communication at a higher level,” a State Department official told reporters.

Deteriorating US-China relations have raised concerns about a possible military confrontation over Taiwan, which Beijing considers a Chinese province slated for reunification with the mainland. Of particular concern to China’s neighbors has been its reluctance to engage in crisis management dialogue with the US at the Defense Ministry leadership level.

Before Anthony Blinken’s arrival in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin stressed that “the United States must give up the illusion that it is dealing with China from a position of strength. China and the US must develop relations based on mutual respect and equality, respecting their differences.”

Expectations are growing, however, that Blinken’s trip will pave the way for more bilateral meetings in the coming months, including perhaps visits by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to China. It could also set the stage for future meetings between Presidents Xi and Biden on the sidelines of upcoming summits.