Analysis: Xi Jinping sends a message but no flowers to Antony Blinken

Katsuji Nakazawa is a Tokyo-based senior staff and editorial writer at Nikkei. He spent seven years in China as a correspondent and later as China bureau chief. He was the 2014 recipient of the Vaughn-Ueda International Journalist prize.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made two China visits within 10 months, both culminating in high-profile meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The first came last June and the second last week, both being held in the Fujian Hall of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.