China: Xi meets former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger in Beijing

Beijing [China], July 20 (ANI): China's President Xi Jinping, on Thursday, met former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Beijing, a day after the US climate envoy John Kerry completed his trip to China, CNN reported. 
Kissinger, who made a surprise visit to Beijing, had met Xi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, a diplomatic complex in western Beijing where China’s leaders often receive foreign dignitaries, CNN reported citing China's state broadcaster CCTV reported. 
The meeting comes after Kissinger met with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi and Defense Minister Li Shangfu, who has been under US sanction since 2018 over China’s purchase of Russian weapons. 
Kissinger’s meeting with Xi indicates how highly he is regarded by China’s leadership, as per CNN. 
Noticeably, Kerry was not granted an audience with Xi, despite being a serving member of President Joe Biden’s current administration and anticipation by some observers beforehand that such a face-to-face could be on the cards. 
Kissinger, who said he was in Beijing “as a friend of China,” played a key role in paving the way for the US to establish diplomatic ties with Communist China half a century ago during the Nixon administration, reported CNN. 
This visit came at a time when the US and China's relationship are deteriorating. Recently, both nations got into the chip war as China imposed export controls on the overseas sales of gallium and germanium, elements essential to making semiconductors, CNN Business reported. China's trump card is seen as the counter-attack to potential US tightening of [its] AI chip ban. 
Even China doesn't like US interaction with Taiwan. China on Wednesday said it opposes any form of official interaction between the US and Taiwan. China’s Foreign Ministry urged the US to abide by the One-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués. 
“China firmly opposes any form of official interaction between the US and the Taiwan region, firmly opposes any visit by ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists to the US in any name or under whatever pretext, and firmly opposes any form of US connivance and support for 'Taiwan independence' separatists and their separatist activities,” China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said during a press conference on Wednesday. 
The diplomatic relations between China and US have been downgraded since the Chinese spy balloon incident. (ANI)