Before the year is up, the US anticipates Wang Yi, China's top diplomat, to be hosted by Blinken.

The State Department announced on Monday that Washington anticipates welcoming China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi to the US before the end of the year, either during next week's UNGA or after.

Regarding Wang Yi's attendance at the UNGA the following week, I'll let the Chinese government make that decision. Having said that, we still anticipate that Secretary Blinken will host Foreign Minister Wang Yi here in the United States, whether it's at UNGA or after UNGA some time before the end of the year, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that China is considering sending Vice President Han Zheng to the UNGA rather than sending Wang Yi on a longer trip to the United States as had been previously indicated, citing persons briefed on the situation.

The yearly conference of world leaders comes after U.S. President Joe Biden expressed sorrow on Sunday that Chinese President Xi Jinping would not be attending an upcoming G20 summit in India, but added that he was going to "get to see him."

Biden did not go into further detail, but the APEC summit in San Francisco in November is most likely the next chance for Biden and Xi to speak as the two countries work to mend their strained relations.

China's main security organization has made it clear that any meeting between Xi and Biden in San Francisco later this year will be contingent on the US "showing sufficient sincerity."

As stated by the president, a meeting with President Xi is something he expects to have later this fall. We will keep working toward the option of having one-on-one interactions at the leader level because we feel there is no alternative for them, Miller said on Monday.

In June, Blinken visited Beijing and met with Wang's predecessor, Qin Gang. This was the top American diplomat's first trip to China in five years. They had "candid, substantive, and constructive" discussions, according to the U.S. State Department, and Blinken invited Qin to Washington to continue the conversation.

In Qin's absence, Blinken later met Wang outside of a regional conference in Jakarta.

After Blinken's visit, three additional top U.S. officials went to China for discussions, but no Chinese representatives have yet to visit the country for negotiations.

From 2013 until 2022, Wang, 69, held the position of foreign minister as relations with the United States deteriorated to what Beijing called an all-time low.

Cleverly said London would pursue a pragmatic relationship with China while keeping "clear-eyed" about differences, in spite of criticism from certain British MPs, and added that it would be a mistake to isolate Beijing.

Jonathan Sullivan, a China expert at the University of Nottingham, provided VOA with a written comment. "The UK was prompted to [restart diplomatic engagement with China] by the Americans, the Australians, and the Europeans who have all done high-level visits and improved relations with China," he said.

Sullivan believes that despite London's diplomatic outreach to China, these attempts may just be an indication of London's wish to halt the downward trend. Additionally, given the U.K.'s difficulties managing a variety of domestic issues, such as the frequent changes in prime minister over the past few years, some experts believe London has failed to provide a set of consistent policies toward China.

The detention of a parliamentary researcher accused of spying for China, according to observers, may put even more pressure on the British government to change how it manages its relations with Beijing. In these conditions, according to Sullivan, the U.K. should "communicate its position better" and be more consistent in its foreign policy.