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Top US diplomat Blinken arrives in Shanghai

A State Department spokesperson told a special briefing previewing Blinken’s trip earlier that the Secretary of State would visit Shanghai and Beijing to "build on our intensive diplomacy [with China] over the past year"

SHANGHAI, April 24. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived on a working visit in Shanghai on Wednesday, a China Media Group (CMG) company reported.

The top US diplomat will be staying in China through April 26. This is Blinken’s second visit to China as US Secretary of State.

A State Department spokesperson told a special briefing previewing Blinken’s trip earlier that the Secretary of State would visit Shanghai and Beijing to "build on our intensive diplomacy [with China] over the past year." During the visit, Blinken is expected to hold "high-ranking diplomacy and interactions," including with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

At a press briefing ahead of Blinken’s arrival, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson cautioned the United States against smearing what he said were normal exchanges between China and Russia. Beijing also called on the United States to stop imposing unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies and individuals. Also, the Chinese diplomat slammed continued US weapons supplies to Taiwan as inadmissible.

In his talks in China, Blinken is expected to focus on the Ukraine conflict, the situation in the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific as well as human rights in the Taiwan Strait.

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