Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited a Beijing record store as he wrapped up a three-day trip to China, where he bought albums by Taylor Swift and a Chinese classic rock star.
“This is wonderful, thank you,” Blinken told owner Yuxuan Zhou during his visit to the Li-Pi record store. “I could probably stay here for hours.”
Blinken has described music as his greatest passion. He plays guitar and has even performed at State Department events.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks with Yuxuan Zhou during a visit to the Li-Pi record store
Secretary of State Antony Blinken bought Taylor Swift’s Midnights album
Blinken used to play in a local Washington DC band called Cash Bar Wedding.
During his brief visit to the store, the owner played Blinken a record by Dou Wei, a leading Chinese musician, singer-songwriter, composer and rock star.
Blinken praised the sound and then wandered around the store, listening to Taylor Swift’s ‘Midnights.’
“Our greatest export,” he said of the singer-songwriter.
Midnights is Swift’s tenth studio album. It was released in October 2022.
Blinken bought both Swift’s album and one from Dou Wei.
There was an awkward moment when the Secretary of State didn’t have the right app to make a purchase in China. An assistant paid for the albums, and Blinken promised to reimburse him.
The secretary of state told Rolling Stone that he owns six or seven guitars and that music “drives the passion in my life.” And I still find joy in that, whether it’s playing a little bit or listening a lot.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has described music as his greatest passion
Blinken was wrapping up a three-day trip to China, which included an awkward meeting with President Xi Jinping.
The visit brought little progress on contentious issues, including China’s support for Russia in Ukraine, tensions over Taiwan and the South China Sea and U.S. complaints about cheap Chinese exports.
During his meeting with the Chinese leader, Blinken emphasized the importance of ‘responsibly managing’ differences between the United States and China.
Blinken said he raised concerns with Xi about China’s support for Russia and its invasion of Ukraine, as well as other issues such as Taiwan and the South China Sea, human rights and the production and export of synthetic opioid precursors.
He struck a positive note on recent progress made in bilateral cooperation, including military communications, counter-drugs and artificial intelligence, on which the two sides agreed to start a dialogue on how to reduce the risks of rapidly emerging technology. .
Blinken arrived in China on Wednesday, visiting Shanghai shortly before Biden signed the $95 billion foreign aid package that has several elements likely to anger Beijing, including $8 billion to counter China’s growing aggressiveness toward Taiwan and the South China Sea.
It also seeks to force TikTok’s parent company, based in China, to sell the social media platform.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns look at a record during a visit to the Li-Pi record store in Beijing.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right) talks with Yuxuan Zhou about music
Secretary of State Antony Blinken performs a Muddy Waters song during a celebration marking the launch of the Music Diplomacy Initiative in September 2023.
China and the United States are the main players in the Indo-Pacific. Washington is increasingly alarmed by Beijing’s growing aggressiveness in recent years toward Taiwan and its smaller Southeast Asian neighbors with which it has major territorial and maritime disputes in the south china sea.
China has criticized US aid to Taiwan and immediately condemned it as a dangerous provocation. He also strongly opposes Efforts to force the sale of TikTokalthough Blinken said this topic did not come up in their conversations on Friday.