Blinken to China; Bill Gates to meet Xi; Xi-Abbas; AIIB PR head resignation creates a furor; Human rights forum

Summary of the Essential Eight:

1. Blinken to China June 18-19 - The US and PRC confirmed Blinken’s visit this weekend, after the Secretary of State and PRC Foreign Minister Qin Gang held a call. The PRC readout of that call was not warm and fuzzy, in another sign that expectations for the visit should be low. Qin, per the PRC readout of the call, told Blinken that “since the beginning of this year…China-U.S. relations have encountered new difficulties and challenges, for which it is crystal clear who is responsible”. According to the transcript of a background briefing with reporters, White House official Kurt Campbell said “We’re clear-eyed about the PRC. We know efforts to shape or reform China over several decades have failed. And we expect China to be around and to be a major player on the world stage for the rest of our lifetimes….intense competition requires intense diplomacy if we’re going to manage tensions. That is the only way to clear up misperceptions, to signal, to communica…