US Secretary of State Blinken will travel to Beijing for talks on June 18

An official said Friday that Blinken would be in Beijing on June 18, but gave no other details.

Foreign Minister Blinken will visit Beijing on June 18, photo 1 — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Photo: Reuters

In February, Washington's top diplomat canceled a planned trip to Beijing because of a Chinese balloon flying over the US.

News of the trip comes after the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that China had reached a secret deal with Cuba to set up a listening post on the island about 100 miles off Florida.

A White House National Security Council spokesman said Thursday the reports were inaccurate.

In Havana, Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio dismissed both the WSJ and subsequent New York Times reports as “lies and baseless.” He said Cuba rejects any foreign military presence in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The trip is seen as a significant step toward what President Joe Biden has called a “thaw” in bilateral relations, which have deteriorated over a number of recent disputes, from the South China Sea to Taiwan and technology competition.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said they had no information about Blinken's trip, but added: "China is willing to have dialogue with the US. We hope the US will work with China in good faith and jointly implement the important consensus reached by the two leaders in the Bali meeting."

Trung Kien (according to Reuters)

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