On Sunday, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the Foreign Minister of China Qin Gang as part of a high-level visit, becoming the first US diplomat of his stature to visit China in five years, The Associated Press reports.

The two sides expressed cautious hope for better communication and conflict prevention as the world's two largest economies disagree on a range of issues from trade to technology to regional security.

Earlier, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that Blinken would “discuss the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to responsibly manage the US-China relationship,” as well as “raise bilateral issues of concern, global and regional matters, and potential cooperation on shared transnational challenges.“

Blinken’s trip was supposed to take place in February, but was postponed due to diplomatic and political confusion caused by the discovery of a downed Chinese spy balloon flying through the territory of the United States.