Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday in an attempt to smooth over rising tensions. 

Quotes from Blinken: When asked by CNN (Lean Left bias) whether China was violating Xi’s prior commitment not to interfere with U.S. elections, Blinken said, “We have seen, generally speaking, evidence of attempts to influence and arguably interfere, and we want to make sure that that’s cut off as quickly as possible.” Blinken also said he “reiterated our serious concern about the PRC providing components that are powering Russia's brutal war of aggression against Ukraine.”

Quotes from Xi: “We hope that the United States will view China’s development in a positive light,” Xi said, adding that “China and the US should be partners rather than adversaries; help each other succeed rather than harm each other.” However, Xi also said the U.S. should stop “saying one thing and doing another,” and Blinken’s counterpart Wang Yi warned of a risk of a “downward spiral.”

How the Media Covered It: News coverage was less common in U.S. right-rated outlets and tended to focus on quotes by either Blinken or Xi. Media voices generally seemed to agree that even if Blinken’s visit helped U.S.-China relations, there still remained a large gap between the countries’ governments.