SpaceWar.com reports: “The United States and China looked to set up a safety net for their intensifying rivalry during a visit to Beijing by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, but the trip achieved only general promises and no breakthroughs on hoped-for military talks and flashpoint issues.

Both President Xi Jinping, who met Blinken on Monday at the end of his 11 hours of talks in Beijing, and President Joe Biden saluted the long-awaited trip as a sign of progress following months of soaring tensions.

‘It was clear coming in that the relationship was at a point of instability, and both sides recognised the need to work to stabilise it,’ Blinken told reporters in Beijing.

US officials have repeatedly spoken of expanding communication to establish ‘guardrails’ in the relationship to prevent misunderstandings from descending into conflict.

But Blinken acknowledged that the United States did not achieve one of its wishes most crucial to avoiding miscalculations — a resumption of dialogue between the two militaries…”