In the next few minutes we're expecting to hear from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken following his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Earlier the pair met in Beijing to mark the end of Blinken's three day trip to China, with Xi telling him that the two countries should be partners, not rivals.

We'll be bringing you the key lines from Blinken's news conference and you'll be able to watch it live at the top of this page, so stay with us.

Image source, Reuters

Earlier today, Blinken described the US-China relationship as "the most consequential relationship" in the world.

The US Secretary of State called for "active diplomacy" between the two countries at a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

"There is no substitute, in our judgement, for face-to-face diplomacy in order to try to move forward, but also to make sure that we’re as clear as possible about the areas where we have differences, at the very least to avoid misunderstandings, to avoid miscalculations," Blinken said.

"That really is a shared responsibility that we have not only for our own people but for people around the world given the impact that the relationship between our countries has around the world," he said.

Wang acknowledged that the relationship between the two countries is beginning to stabilise, but it is still being tested by "negative factors".

He set out what he called China's "red lines" on its sovereignty, security and development - warning the US not to step on them.

Image source, Getty Images

Blinken arrived in China on Wednesday, just hours after US President Joe Biden signed into law a bill that gives TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance nine months to sell its stake in the app or be banned in the US.

Some 170 million Americans use TikTok every month, making the US its largest market.

The legislation, which received widespread bipartisan support in the US, had been introduced because of concerns TikTok might share user data with the Chinese government. Washington is also concerned that Beijing could use the app to fuel misinformation.

TikTok has repeatedly denied claims that the Chinese government has control over ByteDance.

Last month, China's foreign ministry criticised the law as "clearly a bullying act", and said the move would "inevitably come back to bite the United States".

Read more about TikTok here and how likely it is that it will be banned.

A visit stripped of fanfarepublished at 10:26 British Summer Time 26 April 2024

10:26 BST 26 April 2024

Tom Bateman
in Beijing

I've been in the travelling press pool with Blinken throughout this trip. The 20-hour flight (including refuelling) took off from Washington DC early on Tuesday before finally making its way to Beijing on Thursday night.

His meeting with Xi was always expected but was only announced publicly at the last minute - that's pretty standard for these things because in the all-important global diplomatic rankings, this is a president meeting an equivalent of foreign minister. And the protocol between these two countries dictates such a meeting doesn't get previewed in advance.

But the lack of fanfare is consistent with the whole trip. This has neither been about red carpets nor warm welcomes. I have watched Blinken largely trying to keep a polite but tough look on his face at the start of the meetings with his Chinese counterparts. More stern than smiles.

It feels like these two sides are in a stand-off posture: One superpower recognising the other's emerging rival status. Each have been setting their red lines, checking each other out. Yes, trying to re-establish dialogue and diplomacy after ties hit rock-bottom early last year, but aware of the grave risks involved if the world's "most consequential" relationship - as Blinken puts it - goes wrong.

Both sides have made demands in the past three days. The Americans want Beijing to stop sending microchips and tools to Russia they say end up making weapons used in Ukraine. China is telling Washington to back off when it comes to what it sees as its right to exercise its demands in its own neighbourhood. Don't expect big announcements afterwards.

Like the rest of the visit - they are both playing tough.

China-US relations have seen some progress in the months since Xi met US President Joe Biden last November, the Chinese leader acknowledged, but said "there are still many issues that need to be resolved".

"There is still room for further efforts," he told Blinken.

"Mr Secretary of State, this visit was set up during my phone call with President Biden a few weeks ago, and I hope you will make it a worthwhile trip," he said.

Xi and Biden last met in the San Francisco Bay Area in November on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference. It was their second face-to-face meeting during the Biden presidency.

Image source, Reuters

Xi will be friendly - but no pushoverpublished at 09:57 British Summer Time 26 April 2024

09:57 BST 26 April 2024

Tessa Wong
Asia reporter

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken may have been in China since Wednesday evening, but it wasn't publicly confirmed that he would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping until about an hour before the meeting. We've just seen TV footage of them in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Both sides are likely to be courteous, but firm, in their tone with each other, especially Beijing. In Mr Xi's opening remarks publicly released by state media, he stuck to the measured tone he took last November when he visited San Francisco. He called for the two countries to be "partners rather than rivals" and for the US to take a "positive view of China's development".

But behind closed doors, he is likely to talk tough. Even before Mr Blinken arrived, China released a lengthy and robustly-worded statement outlining what they want, which essentially is an end to what they see as the US' strategy of containing and undermining China.

Earlier today, foreign minister Wang Yi issued a warning in his meeting with Mr Blinken, asking: "Should China and the United States keep to the right direction of moving forward with stability or return to a downward spiral?"

The perennial economic disputes and longstanding issues like Taiwan and the South China Sea are likely to be on the table, made even more pertinent by the package of bills passed by US lawmakers just before Mr Blinken's visit that sends aid to Taiwan and imposes a potential ban on TikTok.

Mr Xi will be friendly - he knows that China needs the US - but he will also show he is no pushover.

Image source, Reuters

China and the US should "be partners, not rivals", said President Xi.

The Chinese president called for mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation as the "three major principles" for US-China relations.

"[The two countries] should make achievements for each other, not do harm to each other," he said, according to the Xinhua readout.

Xi Jinping opened the meeting saying that China and the US should "seek common ground while reserving differences and not engage in vicious competition", according to a report from state outlet Xinhua News Agency.

They should "stay true to their words", the Chinese president said, rather than "saying one thing and doing another",

It is possible for China and the US to "develop together and prosper separately", Mr Xi said, reiterating his earlier remarks.

"China is happy to see a confident, open and prosperous United States. We hope that the US side will also take a positive view of China's development."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Shanghai in his second visit to China in less than a year, on the heels of two recent visits by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

The US has dispatched envoys more frequently to China and signalled cooperation.

Beijing also appears to have adopted a softer diplomatic tone in recent months as it tries to attract foreign businesses to spur its slowing economy.

The US calls it "responsibly managing competition" to avert the chances for "miscalculation or conflict", according to a senior State Department official speaking in the run up to Mr Blinken's trip.

That doesn't mean the conversations will be easy. There is no doubt the US-China relationship has improved in recent years, but it is a relationship that still crackles with tension and suspicion.

Read more about the issues here.

Yvette Tan
Live editor

Thank you for joining us as we bring you live updates from Chinese President Xi Jinping’s meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The meeting is taking place at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. It was publicly confirmed by Beijing and Washington officials only shortly before it started at 16:00 local time (09:00 BST).

Blinken is on his second visit to China in less than a year. His trip is widely seen as an attempt to put relations on an even keel, after a period of immense tension last year. Xi also held talks with Blinken at the Great Hall of the People during his visit in June last year.

Early today, Blinken met with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi at Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, where Wang cautioned the US against stepping on China’s “red lines”.

Mr Blinken is expected to address reporters in less than two hours, at 18:00 local time.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest.