Flying into flak

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is making a visit to Beijing in a bid to reopen communications between the world’s top powers after months of tensions and refusals by Chinese officials to speak with their U.S. counterparts. Blinken canceled a planned China trip in February after a Chinese spy balloon was found in U.S. airspace, but is going ahead this month despite revelations of a multibillion-dollar Chinese spy base in Cuba and other fresh bilateral irritants.