CIA chief Burns made secret China trip amid tensions over tensions with Xi

In May, CIA director William J. Burns made a secret trip to China, the Wall Street Journal reported.

A U.S. official said that Burns' visit to China was to keep the lines of communication open between the two countries, as security relations between the two countries have grown more acrimonious.

Last month, director Burns visited Beijing where he met with Chinese counterparts and emphasized the importance of maintaining open lines of communication in intelligence channels, the official said.

The report notes that Burns' trip to China represents the most senior-level visit since the U.S. and China had a dispute over an alleged Chinese spy balloon earlier this year. In a time when the two nations are more in conflict, such as the island of Taiwan and the ongoing war in Ukraine. Earlier last year, Burns made a secret trip to Ukraine to meet with Zelenskyy, a U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, to pledge more resounding U.S. support.

The S. military also said last week that a Chinese fighter jet fighter made an unnecessarily aggressive maneuver, coming within 400 feet of a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea.

The Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, has sought to engage with American officials on economic and trade issues in recent times.

Last week, Xi sent a delegation to Washington, D.C. for a meeting with his U.S. counterpart, Gina Raimondo. The meeting was the first cabinet-level meeting between the two nations under the Biden administration.

Both Raimondo and Yellen are planning to visit China as part of the U.S. effort to uphold high-level dialogues, the Wall Street Journal reported.

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