State Department Official Says China Trip Not Being Cancelled

Next week’s trip to China by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner won’t be cancelled because of the reported U.S. protection given a Chinese activist, according to a State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng escaped house arrest in eastern China and is under U.S. protection, and high-level talks are taking place between the U.S. and China about his status, according to a U.S.-based human rights group. The U.S. Treasury Department referred all questions to the State Department.

To contact the reporter on this story: Indira A.R. Lakshmanan in Washington at ilakshmanan@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Ann Hughey at ahughey@bloomberg.net