Blinken "in extremis" eases tension with China on a trip that few were betting on
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, managed during his two-day visit to China to lower tensions despite the fact that experts were pessimistic about the results of the trip due to the extreme deterioration in relations between the two powers.
Blinken's stay in Beijing culminated on Monday with a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, a half-hour encounter that was not on the official agenda of the chief US diplomat and which sends a conciliatory signal from Beijing.
Xi told Blinken at the start of their meeting that interactions between states "should always be based on mutual respect and sincerity" and stressed his "hope" that the US representative's visit would involve "making positive contributions to stabilising relations" between the two sides.
Had a candid, substantive, and constructive conversation with People’s Republic of China President Xi Jinping in Beijing today. We discussed a range of important issues, including the need to manage our relationship responsibly. pic.twitter.com/Q8kuMm6kly
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) June 19, 2023
More in tune with Qin
On Sunday, the Secretary of State met with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, with whom he spent more hours than planned and then had dinner, while on Monday he met with the head of Chinese diplomacy, Wang Yi, head of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
According to official transcripts released by both sides, the meeting with Qin resulted in "a long, frank, in-depth and constructive dialogue on the overall China-US relationship and other important issues", while Wang's tone with Blinken was somewhat more combative.
The hitherto Chinese Foreign Minister particularly highlighted the issue of Taiwan, one of the main points of friction between the two countries, and asked Blinken that Washington "respect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity" and "oppose Taiwan's independence".
Wang also told him that "the root cause of the decline in Sino-US relations is that the US side has the wrong perception of China, leading to the wrong policy", and called on Washington to work with Beijing to "manage differences and avoid strategic accidents".
A positive step
At a press conference at the end of his visit, Blinken assessed the trip as "a positive step" in the goal of "responsibly" managing the bilateral relationship, although "by no means" a "quick fix" to the problems and disagreements between the two powers.
"It was clear that the relationship was at a point of instability, and both sides recognised that it needed to be stabilised," he said.
Blinken considered that "all the objectives of the trip" had been met, which were to "establish direct channels of communication, address issues of concern and explore cooperation on issues of mutual interest", including climate, global economic stability, health, the fight against fentanyl trafficking and people-to-people exchanges.
On the table was of course Taiwan, on which the American reiterated that the US does not support "independence", although he defined China's actions in the Strait and in the South Sea as "provocative" and called for the peaceful resolution of differences.
He also recalled Washington's commitment to ensure that the island "has the ability to defend itself" under the Taiwan Relations Act.
The self-ruled island has been one of the key players in the escalation of tensions between the two powers over the past year since the visit to Taipei in August 2022 by the then speaker of the US legislature, Nancy Pelosi.
"Welcome to China"
— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) June 19, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as the pair meet in Beijing https://t.co/bHR1zwQU0w pic.twitter.com/SbmgZdiRu1
Reducing risks in the face of economic disengagement
The Secretary of State also countered Beijing's accusations that the US calls for dialogue, but in practice tries to "contain" China.
Blinken denied that this was his country's intention and considered that a complete decoupling of the two economies would be "disastrous", although he said that the US would continue to take the measures it considers necessary to preserve its national security.
"There is a profound difference for the United States and for many other countries between risk reduction and decoupling," he said.
Important discussion with U.S. businesses leaders in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). I reaffirmed the United States wants fair trade and investment on a level playing field in our economic relationship with the PRC. pic.twitter.com/egjYETwr6I
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) June 19, 2023
"We want to see success in all parts of the world, including, of course, major economies like China. It is in our interest. But at the same time, it is not in our interest to provide technology to China that could be used against us," he said, citing the development of "hypersonic missiles" or the use of advanced means for "repressive purposes".
Blinken's visit is the highest-ranking visit by a US official to China since US President Joe Biden took office in 2021, a period in which bilateral relations have continued to deteriorate due to trade, geopolitical and economic tensions.
At the end of his stay, the diplomat said that other high-level bilateral visits would take place in the coming weeks, although he did not specify in which areas.
