Foreign policy: in Asia and elsewhere, the United States is building "a matrix of relationships" rather than engaging alone

Also, explorations of summer in the country and a sketch with a Roman connection

Reopening a dialogue with China - why it matters

Antony Blinken, via Wikimedia Commons

I must confess that I'm cheering the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, for his recent visit to China. Blinken's trip, the first in five years by a secretary of state, was aimed at reopening lines of communication with Beijing after a period of growing tension b…