Former U. S.
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao held a meeting with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng in Beijing on June 17, according to an official announcement from the Chinese government.
The high-level diplomatic meeting took place exactly three days after Chao's husband, U. S.
Senator Mitch McConnell, was rushed to the hospital, as reported by a news release from the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States.
While the embassy statement did not clarify whether Chao traveled to China on official U. S.
government business, it noted that both figures expressed a mutual commitment to strengthening bilateral ties.
Shared Vision for Future Relations
"We agreed on a new vision of a constructive China-U. S.
relationship of strategic stability, providing important strategic guidance for future bilateral relations," Han Zheng said.
Chao previously served as U. S.
Secretary of Transportation from 2017 to 2021 and also held the position of Secretary of Labor under President George W.
Bush.
The meeting underscores ongoing diplomatic exchanges between the two nations despite recent political developments.
