Blinken lands in China, hopes better ties amid US anti-China hostility
4 Min Read
The US Secretary of State says that he aims through his visit to accomplish three objectives, mainly establishing crisis management mechanisms between both countries.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks on China at Jack Morton Auditorium of George Washington University on May 26, 2022, in Washington DC. (AFP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in China on Sunday, months after his originally scheduled visit was canceled over the balloon incident dispute and America's anti-China international campaign.
Blinken will be the first State Secretary to visit China in over five years, and the first top official since US President Joe Biden took office in 2021.
Hoping to have a breakthrough in the icy relations and revive communication channels, he is expected to meet with Foreign Minister Qin Gang and China's top diplomat Wang Yi. Blinken could meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping as well.
Blinken's trip is also expected to lead to more bilateral meetings in the coming months, including China trips by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Biden-Xi meetings at multilateral summits later this year can also be a result.
Biden told reporters Saturday morning that he intended to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping "over the next several months" to discuss "legitimate differences we have but also how... to get along."
"There's a recognition on both sides that we do need to have senior-level channels of communication," a senior State Department official said in a briefing during a transit stop in Tokyo en route to Beijing.
The official added, "We are at an important point in the relationship where I think reducing the risk of miscalculation, or as our Chinese friends often say, stopping the downward spiral in the relationship, is something important."
Relations between the two largest economies have deteriorated rapidly in the past years. The trade war on China, which was launched during former US President Donald Trump's term, was stretched by Biden's administration to include a military escalation against Beijing in the South China Sea, including violating the "one China" policy and deepening relations with Taiwan.
Biden's administration also launched a tech offensive against China's chip industry, bringing together its allies to join in on the efforts to curb the Asian giant's developing semiconductor sector.
The conflict between the two countries also raised concerns over a possible military clash that might lead to an all-out world war.
Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu warned earlier this month that a potential confrontation between China and the US would be an “unbearable disaster” for the world.
“China and the US have different systems," he acknowledged, arguing however that "this should not keep the two sides from seeking common ground and common interests to grow bilateral ties and deepen cooperation."
He further indicated China's willingness to maintain military discussions with the US under improved circumstances.
Blinken said on Friday that his visit aims to achieve three objectives: establish mechanisms to resolve disputes, advance the US and its allies' interests, address Washington's concerns directly, and discuss areas of common interests.
Also on Friday, Blinken talked individually with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, underlining the significance of "sustained... trilateral cooperation."
Blinken informed South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin on Friday of the US' "ironclad commitment" to South Korea's defense, according to State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller.
Blinken also told Park of the US pledge to "responsibly manage the US-PRC relationship."
"If we want to make sure, as we do, that the competition that we have with China doesn't veer into conflict, the place you start is with communicating," Blinken said, also stressing that US citizens detained in China will also be addressed.
