Xi Jinping’s 20th Party Congress victory lap bodes ill for U.S.-China relations

"It was a puzzling statement... what [Blinken] seems to be saying is that the status quo across the state has been shifting because of China's actions toward Taiwan in the past few years," said SSP Director M. Taylor Fravel. "There are real risks of over-interpreting what he said, especially in light of other, more detailed assessments."