YEREVAN, APRIL 26, ARMENPRESS. U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, in Beijing on Friday, as the two countries worked to hold together a fractious relationship despite disputes over the economy, national security and geopolitical frictions in East Asia, the Middle East and Ukraine, The New York Times reports.

Both China and the United States have said they were hoping for progress on a few smaller, pragmatic fronts, including improving communications between their militaries and easing travel between the countries. But they remain at a standstill on fundamental strategic issues.

According to the report, the direct meeting with China’s leader is a sign of continued effort to ease tensions, but officials expect little progress on core issues like Taiwan, trade and Chinese support of Russia.

As reported earlier, in the morning Secretary Blinken spent more than five hours with China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, in meetings and at a working lunch at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.