Why has Antony Blinken arrived in China?
Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in China on Sunday, the highest-level visit by a US official in over five years, as opposing countries seek to defuse escalating tensions.
Neither side anticipates any breakthroughs during Blinken’s two-day visit, as the world’s two largest economies are at odds on a wide range of topics ranging from trade to technology to regional security.
However, the two countries have increasingly expressed a desire for better stability, and they perceive a small window before elections next year in both the United States and Taiwan, the self-governing democracy that Beijing has not ruled out conquering by force.
Blinken had been scheduled to come four months earlier, the result of a friendly summit between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping in Bali in November.
However, Blinken unexpectedly canceled the trip after the US reported it detected a Chinese spy balloon over US territory, prompting strong calls for a response from hardliners in Washington.
Before leaving, Blinken stated that he would aim to “responsibly manage our relationship” by seeking methods to minimize “miscalculations” between the countries.
“Intense competition requires sustained diplomacy to ensure that competition does not veer into confrontation or conflict,” he said.
– Keeping allies close –
Blinken was speaking alongside Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, who said that the region wanted the United States both to stay as a power and to find ways to coexist with a rising China.
Blinken’s “trip is essential, but not sufficient”, Balakrishnan said.
“There are fundamental differences in outlook, in values. And it takes time for mutual respect and strategic trust to be built in.”
Blinken spoke via phone with his counterparts in Japan and South Korea during his 20-hour trans-Pacific flight, as part of the Biden administration’s emphasis on keeping allies close.
Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security advisor, traveled separately to Tokyo for separate three-way discussions with Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines.
In recent months, the US has agreed to troop deployments in southern Japan and the northern Philippines, both of which are strategically near Taiwan.
Following a visit by Nancy Pelosi, then-Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Beijing conducted extensive military drills around Taiwan in August, seen as practice for an invasion.
And in April, China launched three days of war games after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen visited the United States and met the current speaker, Kevin McCarthy.
Why has Antony Blinken arrived in China?
Ahead of Blinken’s visit, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that the United States needed to “respect China’s core concerns” and work together with Beijing.
“The US needs to give up the illusion of dealing with China ‘from a position of strength’. China and the US must develop relations on the basis of mutual respect and equality, respect their difference in history, culture, social system, and development path,” he said, a nod to frequent US criticism of China’s rights record.
Blinken is the first top US diplomat to visit Beijing since his predecessor, Mike Pompeo, who later advocated for all-out war with China in the closing years of Donald Trump’s presidency.
In practice, if not in tone, the Biden administration has maintained Trump’s hard approach and has gone further in areas such as seeking to prohibit the shipment to China of high-end semiconductors with military applications.
Also read: Blinken says China might give weapons to Russia
However, unlike Trump, who is fighting for re-election, the Biden administration has stated that it is open to working with China on specific areas of collaboration, such as climate, as Beijing sweats in record mid-June temperatures.
Danny Russel, Barack Obama’s top East Asian diplomat during his second term, said that each side had priorities, with China seeking to avoid additional US restrictions on technology or support for Taiwan, and the US eager to avoid an incident that could escalate into a military confrontation.
“Blinken’s brief visit will not bring resolution to any of the big issues in the US-China relationship or even necessarily to the small ones. Neither will it stop either side from continuing with their competitive agendas,” said Russel, now a vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute.
“But his visit may well restart badly needed face-to-face dialogue and send a signal that both countries are moving from angry rhetoric at the press podium to sober discussions behind closed doors.”
