Blinken begins talks in Beijing on mission to ease US-China tensions

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has opened a second and final day of critical meetings with senior Chinese officials as the two sides expressed willingness to talk but showed little inclination to bend on hardened positions that have sent tensions soaring.

Blinken was meeting Monday morning with China's top diplomat Wang Yi and an encounter with President Xi Jinping was still in the cards before he departs in the late evening.

Neither Blinken nor Wang made any comment to reporters as they greeted each other and sat for their discussion.

In the first round of talks on Sunday, Blinken met for nearly six hours with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang after which both countries said they had agreed to continue high-level discussions. However, there was no sign that any of the most fractious issues between them were closer to resolution.

The two sides both said Qin had accepted an invitation from Blinken to visit Washington but Beijing made clear that the China-U.S. relationship is a