Chinese President Xi Jinping says he is satisfied with the progress made during talks with the US this week.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken completed a two-day visit to Beijing on Monday but his meeting with Mr Xi wasn't on the original schedule until being announced an hour before it took place.

State media described the exchanges as "candid, in-depth and constructive".

But there were also signs that China was less than enthusiastic in its welcome of Mr Blinken, even down to the lack of a red carpet for the first visit by a US secretary of state in almost five years.

These are the key takeaways from the long overdue catch-up of the world's two superpowers.

It was a meeting that mattered 

Tensions between China and the US have soared in recent years, with both President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump calling Beijing the most serious threat to long-term US global primacy.

Mr Blinken's trip marked the first visit to China by a Cabinet official since Mr Biden took office after winning the 2020 election.

It had been scheduled to take place in February, but was postponed after a suspected Chinese spy balloon flew through US airspace.

The fact that the talks finally went ahead is considered a significant step in the right direction.

"I think the meeting was indicative of a trajectory that now seems to be going in a good direction but I wouldn't necessarily call it historical," said Nancy Schneider, of the Australian Institute of International Affairs.

"While we have a pretty clear picture of what the topics of discussion were, it's actually to everyone's benefit to not make the granular content of all of those talks public.

"That is because it allows for both sides to have a dialogue where they don't necessarily need to prove publicly, that they are taking a particular position."

'Productive exchange' after soaring tensions

Mr Blinken and Mr Xi both underlined the importance of having a more stable relationship, as any conflict between the world's two largest economies would create global disruption.

China refused to entertain Washington's bid to resume military-to-military communication channels, citing US sanctions as the obstacle.

The two sides appeared entrenched in their positions over everything from Taiwan to trade, including US actions toward China's chip industry, human rights and Russia's war against Ukraine.

"The possibility of an inadvertent incident leading to conflict remains extremely high but I don't think the South China Sea is quite as combustible as it was," said Hunter Marston, an adjunct research fellow with La Trobe Asia.

"In recent years, I think the sort of fulcrum of bipolar friction has shifted to the Taiwan Strait. For the moment and despite this meeting, I think the potential for conflict remains latent."

Mr Xi has said he sees self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province and wants to bring it under Beijing's control.

Mr Blinken stressed on Monday that the US does not support Taiwan independence, even though Mr Biden said last year the US would defend Taiwan in the event of an attack from Beijing.

Xi wanted to show he had the upper hand

Mr Xi sat at the head of the table, with Mr Blinken to his right in a deferential position during their 35-minute meeting.

There was also a conspicuous lack of red carpet to welcome the first US secretary of state on Chinese soil since Trump-appointed Mike Pompeo visited Beijing in October 2018.

In a country where optics mean everything, Mr Xi was sending "a clear message" to his people, according to Ms Schneider.

"If you look at that table, Mr Xi was all by himself at the head of the table, and the Blinken team was off to the side. That's a very clear message that he wanted to show to his people that he had the upper hand in this relationship.

"I think both the US and China are very interested in showing their respective domestic populations that they're not being overly conciliatory or even moderately conciliatory towards the other side."

State media had criticised video showing Mr Blinken's arrival in the Chinese capital under a sky cast in a dark filter, with the international press accused of "maliciously fabricating the weather in Beijing as cloudy and hazy".

Pathways for possible Xi-Biden summit

US officials had been playing down the prospect of a major breakthrough, but hoped Mr Blinken's visit would pave the way for more bilateral meetings, including possible trips by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

It had been hoped that it would even pave the way for a Xi-Biden summit later in the year, after the two met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia in November.

They pledged more frequent communication last year, before relations once again soured.

"But nothing substantial was accomplished, aside from the re-establishment of face-to-face dialogue. The underlying mistrust is still pervasive in the relationship."

Mr Xi sent out a more upbeat message at the completion of the Beijing meeting with Mr Blinken, giving a glimmer of hope that he might meet with Mr Biden before too long.

"The two sides have also made progress and reached the agreement on some specific issues. This is very good," Mr Xi told Mr Blinken across a long table adorned with pink flowers.

Blinken's tone in alignment with Australia

Given its own frosty relationship with Beijing in recent years — only slightly thawing since the Albanese government came to power last year — Australia was closely watching developments.