CIA chief made secret trip to China to ‘maintain dialogue’

THE CIA director travelled to China in secret last month, it emerged yesterday, in a sign of Joe Biden’s concerns over deteriorating relations between Washington and Beijing.

The clandestine trip by Bill Burns is the highest level visit by a Biden administration official since a suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot down by American forces earlier this year. Mr Burns’s visit, first reported by the

Financial Times, was confirmed by US officials on Friday.

The details of his schedule during his trip remain classified, but one official said the CIA director met with a number of Chinese intelligence officials.

“Last month, Director Burns travelled to Beijing where he met with Chinese counterparts and emphasised the importance of maintaining open lines of communication in intelligence channels,” the official said.

The Biden administration has previously raised concerns that its outreach efforts have been spurned by China, warning it raised the possibility of miscommunication spiralling into conflict.

This week China rejected a US request for a meeting between the two nations’ defence chiefs at an annual security forum in Singapore, according to the Pentagon.

Mr Biden voiced optimism over an imminent “thaw” in relations between Beijing and Washington at the G7 summit in Hiroshima without providing any details.

According to the FT, Mr Burns’s trip to China took place before Mr Biden made the remark. The 67-year-old spy chief is also an experienced former diplomat who enjoys a unique place within Mr Biden’s inner circle.

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