Biden’s top diplomat Antony Blinken tries to ease ‘Bad Blood’ with China by going to Beijing record store and buying Taylor Swift’s album after tense meeting with Xi Jinping

Secretary of State Antony Blinken entered a record store in Beijing as he wrapped up a three-day trip to China, where he bought albums by Taylor Swift and a classic Chinese rock star.

“This is great, thank you,” Blinken told owner Yuxuan Zhou during his visit to the Li-Pi record store. “I could probably stay here for hours.”

Blinken calls music his greatest passion. He plays guitar and has even performed at State Department events.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken bought Taylor Swift’s album Midnights

Blinken used to play in a local Washington DC band called Cash Bar Wedding.

During his brief visit to the store, owner Blinken played a record by Dou Wei, a Chinese musician, singer-songwriter, composer and leading rock star in China.

Blinken praised the sound and then wandered around the store looking for Taylor Swift’s “Midnights.”

“Our biggest 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 by 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 aide paid for the albums and Blinken promised to pay him back.

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 get pleasure from that, whether it’s playing a little or listening a lot.’

Secretary of State Antony Blinken calls music his greatest passion

Blinken was wrapping up a three-day trip to China that included a testy meeting with President Xi Jinping.

The visit made little progress on controversial issues, including China’s support for Russia in Ukraine, tensions over Taiwan and the South China Sea and US complaints about cheap Chinese exports

During his meeting with the Chinese leader, Blinken emphasized the importance of “responsibly dealing with” the differences between the United States and China.

Blinken said he had raised concerns with Xi about Chinese support for Russia and the invasion of Ukraine, as well as other issues including Taiwan and the South China Sea, human rights and the production and export of synthetic opioid precursors.

He sounded a positive note on recent progress made in bilateral cooperation, including in the areas of military communications, counter-narcotics and artificial intelligence, with the two sides agreeing to initiate a dialogue on how to address the risks posed by the rapid emerging technology can be reduced.

Blinken arrived in China on Wednesday and visited Shanghai shortly before Biden signed the $95 billion foreign aid package, which contains several elements likely to anger Beijing, including $8 billion to address China’s growing aggression toward Taiwan and in the South China Sea to counteract.

It is also trying to force TikTok’s Chinese parent company to sell the social media platform.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns view a record during a visit to the Li-Pi record store in Beijing

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right) talks to Yuxuan Zhou about music

Secretary of State Antony Blinken performs a Muddy Waters song during a celebration to mark the launch of the Music Diplomacy Initiative in September 2023

China and the United States are the major players in the Indo-Pacific. Washington has become increasingly alarmed by Beijing’s increasing aggressiveness in recent years toward Taiwan and its smaller Southeast Asian neighbors, with which it has significant territorial and maritime disputes in the region. South Chinese Ocean.

China has spoken out against US aid to Taiwan and immediately condemned the aid as a dangerous provocation. It also resists vigorously attempts to force the sale of TikTokalthough Blinken said the issue did not come up in his conversations Friday.