Anthony Blinken begins visit to China postponed due to downed “spy balloon”

Neither side expects breakthroughs during Blinken’s two-day visit as the world’s two largest economies disagree on a range of issues such as trade, technology and regional security.

Both countries are increasingly expressing an interest in seeking greater stability and see a narrow window ahead of next year’s elections in both the United States and Taiwan, with which Beijing does not rule out reunification by force.

Following a summit between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bali in November, Secretary Blinken’s subsequent visit to China was abruptly postponed due to the Chinese “spy balloon” scandal that began unfolding in January.

Speaking in the US capital before leaving for Beijing, Blinken said he would strive to “manage our relationship responsibly” by finding ways to avoid “miscalculations” between the two countries.

“Intense competition requires sustained diplomacy to ensure that competition does not escalate into confrontation or conflict,” said the head of the United States Department of State.

Blinken spoke alongside Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, who said the region wants the US to remain a power and find ways to coexist with a rising China.

“Blinken’s trip is important, but not enough,” notes Balakrishnan. – There are fundamental differences in worldview, in values. And it takes time to build mutual respect and strategic trust.”

As part of the Biden administration’s efforts to stay close to allies, Blinken has been on the phone with his counterparts from both Japan and South Korea during his 20-hour trans-Pacific journey.

Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan traveled separately to Tokyo for trilateral meetings involving Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.

In recent months, the US has reached agreements to deploy troops in southern Japan and northern Philippines, which are strategically close to Taiwan.

In August, Beijing held a major military exercise around Taiwan that was seen as preparation for an invasion, following a visit to the island by then-Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.

In April, China began three days of military maneuvers after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen visited the US and met with current speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Ahead of Blinken’s visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the US needed to “respect China’s core concerns” and work together with Beijing.

“The US must give up the illusion of dealing with China from a position of strength,” the Chinese official said. “China and the United States should develop relations based on mutual respect and equality, and respect their differences in history, culture, social system and development path.”

Blinken is the first senior U.S. diplomat to visit Beijing after a brief 2018 stopover by his predecessor, Mike Pompeo, who advocated standing up to China in the final years of Donald Trump’s presidency, The Guardian recalls.

The Biden administration has kept Trump’s hard line in practice, if not in tone, and has gone further in some areas, including working to ban the export of high-quality military-grade semiconductors to China.

Unlike Trump, who is running for president again, the Biden administration has said it is willing to work with China on narrow areas of cooperation such as climate.

Danny Russell, who was chief diplomat for East Asia during Barack Obama’s second term, stressed that each side has priorities: China is seeking to prevent further US restrictions on technology or support for Taiwan, and the US is seeking to prevent an incident that could escalate into a military one. confrontation.

“Blinken’s brief visit will not solve any of the big problems in US-China relations, and not even necessarily the small ones. It also won’t stop either side from continuing their competitive agendas, said Russell, now vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute. “But his visit could very well restart much-needed face-to-face dialogue and send a signal that both countries are moving from angry rhetoric on the press podium to sober discussions behind closed doors.”

Xi Jinping hinted at a possible willingness to ease tensions, saying at a meeting with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Friday that the US and China could work together to “benefit our two countries.”

“I believe that the foundation of Sino-US relations lies in people,” Xi told Gates. “In the current world situation, we can carry out various activities that benefit our two countries, the peoples of our countries and all of humanity.”

Biden told White House reporters on Saturday that he hopes to meet with Xi Jinping again over the next few months and talk “about the legitimate differences that we have and also how to do it … to get along.” Chances may come at the G20 leaders’ meeting in New Delhi in September and at the US-hosted Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November in San Francisco.