That visit made US look extremely weak. Blinken looked like a bytch over there.
The US is rightfully worried about the lack of communication between the US and Chinese militaries. The Chinese defense minister has declined meetings with the US Secretary of Defense, and the declinations by the Chinese have occurred multiple times, and at different levels in the org.
Now, this may partially be because the Chinese defense minister is currently under US sanctions.
But we are more safe in a world where the world's two most powerful militaries (that both have nuclear weapons) are in constant communication regardless of how aggressive the rhetoric from the politicians is.