Xi to meet Blinken in Beijing

Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday afternoon.

At the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Blinken is scheduled to visit China from April 24 to 26.

China and France should uphold independence and jointly fend off a "new Cold War" or bloc confrontation, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday in Paris.

During his talks with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace, Xi expressed his pleasure at being invited to pay his third state visit to France on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France.

Xi hoped that through this visit, he can work with President Macron to pass the baton of history and embark on a new journey for the next 60 years of bilateral ties, so as to make new contributions to world peace and stability as well as human development and progress.

To that end, Xi said both countries should adhere to the original aspiration of establishing diplomatic relations featuring independence, mutual understanding, foresight, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, and work to add new dimensions to it.

He called on China and France to make concerted efforts facing the undergoing global changes and turbulence unseen in a century.

"Both sides should uphold independence and jointly fend off a 'new Cold War' or bloc confrontation, adhere to mutual understanding and jointly promote a harmonious and colorful world where all countries can coexist, remain forward-looking and jointly push for an equal, orderly multi-polar world, and pursue mutual benefit and win-win cooperation and jointly oppose decoupling, disruption of industrial and supply chains, and the erection of 'fences and barriers'", he said.