On Friday (April 26), after U.S. Secretary of State Blinken held talks with high-level officials of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing, he made an unexpected detour to a Beijing record store and purchased an album by Taylor Swift (commonly known as Taylor Swift in Chinese) , and an album by Chinese singer Dou Wei.
Reuters reported that on his way to the airport after meeting with the leader of the Communist Party of China, Blinken suddenly walked into a record store called “Li‧Pi” in Beijing. After Blinken had a brief conversation with the store owner, the store owner handed him an album by Dou Wei. He also bought a copy of Taylor Swift’s 2022 album “Midnights”.
At the record store, he described American pop superstar Taylor Swift, whose hits include “Bad Blood” from her 2014 fifth album, as a successful American export project.
In 2019, Taylor Swift’s album “Lover” broke a new record for international artists in China, with total plays, downloads and sales exceeding 1 million within one week of release. The total sales make it the highest-selling full-length international album in China in such a short period of time.
Blinken, a music enthusiast and guitarist, described music as the best connector across geographic locations. He said he likes vinyl records because of the instructions on the back of the record sleeve.
When the store owner asked him what music he liked, the 62-year-old Blinken said he liked everything. “I’m kind of stuck in the 1970s,” he said.
Current political commentator Li Linyi believes that the current relationship between the United States and China is extremely tense, and there are strong calls for sanctions on the CCP in the U.S. Congress. Blinken ate steamed dumplings in Shanghai, strolled around the Bund, talked to people, and bought music records in Beijing. These behaviors revealed that the US government likes Chinese culture and welcomes people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. The problem is that while the CCP promotes people-to-people exchanges, it also mixes spies and others among people among the people, making it difficult for people to distinguish. With the CCP in power in China, even the trend of non-governmental exchanges between the United States and China is not optimistic, and the CCP is the party that should bear full responsibility.
On April 26, 2024 (Friday), after U.S. Secretary of State Blinken held talks with high-level officials of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing, he made an unexpected detour to a record store in Beijing and purchased a Taylor Swift (commonly known as Taylor Swift in Chinese) album. (Mark Schiefelbein/POOL/AFP)
On Friday (April 26), after U.S. Secretary of State Blinken held talks with high-level officials of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing, he made an unexpected detour to a Beijing record store and purchased an album by Taylor Swift (commonly known as Taylor Swift in Chinese) . (Mark Schiefelbein/POOL/AFP)
Blinken met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday, the latest high-level contacts between the United States and China aimed at controlling tensions.
The visit produced little progress on contentious issues including China’s support for Russia in Ukraine, tensions over Taiwan and the South China Sea, and U.S. criticism of China’s cheap exports. However, in terms of education and other cultural exchanges, both sides have made some efforts to ease bilateral tensions.
“Even as we seek to deepen cooperation where our interests align, the United States clearly recognizes the challenges posed by China and our competing visions for the future,” Blinken said at a news conference in Beijing.
“The United States will always defend our core interests and values,” he said.
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