This is CBSI in the world.

I'm John Bachelors, Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

In China, first visit by a Secretary of State in five years, the headline in the London

Times, Antony Blinken meets President Xi, but fails to reopen China military channels.

Relations between the two countries reports the Times are at the lowest step for decades,

but Blinken's two-day visit to China culminated in an unscheduled 35-minute encounter with

Xi during which they held a, quote, important conversation, according to the American side.

Joe, you spent many years in China.

You understand the mainland?

You understand what the mainland has done to Hong Kong.

I understand all of that behind you.

But as you watch this dance between Washington and Beijing, is there promise here?

Are we looking at Beijing that is so reduced by its collapsing economy that it can't negotiate

in good faith?

How do you read these things, Joe?

Well, I think the problem is that it's not clear that China wants to negotiate in good

faith.

Because I think that the Chinese economy is a very important story to understanding what's

going on here, mainly because the economy is running into difficulties, but it's telling

that a lot of the problems that the Chinese economy is running into right now are self-inflicted.

Some of those in the property market, for example, are a result of genuine reform efforts

that could have some potential to be useful.

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