The first Cabinet-level trip abroad of the Biden administration is squarely focused on the challenge presented by China to U.S. primacy. Blinken will also meet with his Chinese counterpart in Alaska.

"The very fact that we're constantly trying to build that more perfect union is an acknowledgement of our imperfection," Antony Blinken told NPR. "It's in the striving that you really make progress."

The Senate confirmed Antony Blinken as President Biden's secretary of state on Tuesday. The vote was 78-22. As the top U.S. diplomat, Blinken will face an array of national security challenges.

"Humility and confidence should be the flip sides of America's leadership coin," Blinken will testify at his Senate confirmation hearing, vowing to work for the "greater good."

As the president-elect vows to get tough on Moscow, analysts say Russia's leader wants to show he'll take the fight to Washington — and his congratulations delay was just the latest sign.

Even as European Union leaders welcome more cordial U.S. relations, the trans-Atlantic partnership faces the tough test of handling China's expansion.