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Blinken to Pay Long-Awaited China Visit on February 5-6

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks during a visit to NASA headquarters with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other US and Japanese officials (not pictured) in Washington, US, January 13, 2023. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks during a visit to NASA headquarters with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other US and Japanese officials (not pictured) in Washington, US, January 13, 2023. (Reuters)
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Blinken to Pay Long-Awaited China Visit on February 5-6

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks during a visit to NASA headquarters with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other US and Japanese officials (not pictured) in Washington, US, January 13, 2023. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks during a visit to NASA headquarters with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other US and Japanese officials (not pictured) in Washington, US, January 13, 2023. (Reuters)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Beijing on February 5-6, a US official said Tuesday, giving dates for a long-awaited trip aimed at keeping high tensions in check.  

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Blinken would arrive in the Chinese capital on February 5 and also hold talks the following day, going ahead with the visit despite mounting concern about Covid-19 cases in China.  

Blinken will be the first US secretary of state to visit China since October 2018 when his Republican predecessor Mike Pompeo, known for his outspoken criticism of Beijing, made a brief stop following talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang. 

Blinken's trip was announced in November when Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping met in Bali on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit, with the leaders of the world's two largest economies both voicing guarded hope at preventing disagreements from spiraling out of control. 

In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin welcomed the visit and said that he hoped Blinken would follow the path of the Xi-Biden meeting and help "push China-US relations back on the track of healthy and stable development." 

Tensions soared in August as China staged war games near Taiwan, which it claims, following a defiant visit to the self-governing democracy by Nancy Pelosi, then the speaker of the US House of Representatives.  

Blinken has previously warned that China may be stepping up its timeframe for considering an invasion of Taiwan.  

Meeting last week with the foreign and defense ministers of close US ally Japan, Blinken said his trip to China aimed in part at keeping open channels of communication.  

"What we don't want is for any misunderstanding to veer into conflict," Blinken said.  

Blinken said that the Biden administration was committed to establishing "guardrails" on tensions so as to "manage this relationship responsibly," including finding potential areas of cooperation such as climate change and global health. 

"We're not looking for conflict. We'll manage the competition responsibly, but we will compete vigorously," Blinken said. 

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Russia Stages First Missile Attack on Kyiv Since August

Rescuers work at a site of a Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine August 27. REUTERS/Stringer
Rescuers work at a site of a Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine August 27. REUTERS/Stringer
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Russia Stages First Missile Attack on Kyiv Since August

Rescuers work at a site of a Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine August 27. REUTERS/Stringer
Rescuers work at a site of a Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine August 27. REUTERS/Stringer

Blasts boomed across Kyiv on Wednesday morning after officials said Russia launched its first missile attack on the Ukrainian capital since August, forcing elderly women and small children to take shelter in an underground metro station.
Ukrainians have been waiting for a big missile attack for months, worried that it could deal a new blow to the hobbled energy system and cause long blackouts as winter sets in.
Air defenses intercepted two incoming cruise missiles, two ballistic missiles and 37 drones across the country, the air force said. No casualties or major damage were reported in Kyiv.
"Putin is launching a missile attack on Kyiv right now," Andriy Yermak, the head of the president's office, wrote on Telegram.
Falling debris came down in the region outside Kyiv, injuring a 48-year-old man and causing a fire at a warehouse, the head of Kyiv region's administration said.
Kyiv has faced Russian drone attacks almost nightly for weeks. City mayor Vitali Klitschko said a drone was still flying over central Kyiv in the morning.
"Explosions in the city. Air defense forces are working. Stay in shelters!" the Kyiv city administration wrote on Telegram.
Around 100 residents took shelter in the central metro station Universitet, including small children sleeping on yoga mats and elderly women sitting on fold-out chairs.
Some complained of a lack of sleep from the regular drone attacks, which trigger the air raid alert that sounds across the city and buzzes on phones.
"The mornings are totally ruined. I started college in September and every morning has been ruined by the bloody Russians. I cannot sleep, cannot think and I drink energy drinks all the time," said Mykyta, a teenager hugging his dog in the metro.
MASSIVE ATTACK
Russia targeted Ukrainian power facilities with strikes earlier this year, causing blackouts. The situation has since improved, but officials believe the Kremlin may plan to attack the grid again soon.
Andrii Kovalenko, a senior official at the National Security and Defence Council, warned that Russia was ready to conduct another "massive" attack and had accumulated a large number of cruise missiles.
After Wednesday's strike, power grid operator Ukrenergo said it would limit electricity supply for businesses due to "significantly" lower power imports and lower generation.
The last time restrictions on power supplies were imposed on both businesses and households was after a big Russian missile and drone attack in late August.
It was unclear whether the new restrictions were linked to the latest attack. Ukraine's largest private power generator and distributor DTEK said the restrictions would apply to Kyiv, the surrounding region and the regions of Odesa, Dnipro and Donetsk.
Despite regular drone attacks, Russia has not struck Kyiv with missiles since Aug. 26 when it launched a massive attack across the country that officials said deployed more than 200 drones and missiles. That attack killed seven people, Ukraine said.