US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has wrapped up his rare visit to China with a meeting with President Xi Jinping. The 35-minute get-together didn’t see progress made on Blinken’s top agenda item to reopen military-to-military communication channels to stop accidents from becoming armed conflict. The pair covered a plucked from the menu of global challenges, including the war in Ukraine, North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and climate change. Xi told Blinken that China isn’t seeking to “challenge or replace the United States,” but America “must also respect China and not harm China’s legitimate rights and interests.” And Blinken described the talks with Xi and top officials Wang Yi and Qin Gang as “very candid, very in-depth”. Next up: President Biden says he’s keen to talk to Xi in person. That could happen at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in November in San Francisco – Xi is yet to RSVP.