All charm on the Beijing front

No angry words in Beijing shock! Just when every newspaper in the world was saying that relations between the US and China were at their lowest ever, America's most senior diplomat and China's president had a good chat and were still smiling at the end of it. It goes without saying that the world is a better and safer place if Beijing and Washington are not going hammer and tongs at each other. So it's a relief that Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, and President Xi Zinping, emerged from their session with talk of a constructive dialogue and each man saying they respected their individual country's different concerns. Whether this all leads to much warmer relations it's a bit early to say but the meeting in Beijing after all that fuss over the Chinese spy balloon flying over sensitive sites in the US bodes well. These days there is not much to be relieved or happy about on the international stage, mostly because of the outrageous tyranny and aggression of Vladimir Putin. It would be encouraging if Xi gave even the slightest hint to Blinken that the war in Ukraine has to be brought to an end as quickly as possible. I'm sure he would like it to end but the big question is, on what terms and on whose terms. Xi's previous peace deal proposals fell flat and the visiting African leaders'ideas were unsurprisingly rejected.