Blinken to head to China April 24-26 to discuss 'serious concerns'
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The US State Department said that Blinken will attempt to persuade China to cut alleged support for Russia's defense industrial base amid the war in Ukraine.
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets the journalists during a press conference at the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting on Capri Island, Italy, Friday, April 19, 2024 (AP)
The US State Department on Saturday announced that Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to hold a visit to Beijing and Shanghai from April 24-26, where he will be meeting with several key officials and discuss a range of concerns.
"Secretary Blinken will travel to the People's Republic of China April 24 through 26. He will meet with senior PRC officials in both Shanghai and Beijing," the official said on Friday.
The official added that Blinken will be spending "considerable time with his counterpart Director and Foreign Minister Wang Yi."
What's on the table?
According to the official, Blinken plans to expand on previous discussions of bilateral relations, as well as regional and global matters that the US perceives as concerning, and further discuss issues pertaining to responsibly managing competition in order to avert a possible miscalculation or conflict.
Blinken will also attempt to persuade China to cut an alleged support for Russia's defense industrial base amid the war in Ukraine.
"Through Chinese support, Russia has largely reconstituted its defense industrial base … That's deeply concerning to us. We'll express those concerns to China, and we will express our intent to have China curtail that support which is starting to pose a threat to European security,” the official said.
Read more: Miscalculations could lead to US, China conflict: US General
Blinken will also make the case that the implications of China's alleged support for Russia are not in "China's interest going forward."
An avalanche of concerns
Another topic of concern is the current events unfolding in the Middle East, including the war on Gaza and the regional escalations that have ensued from Israeli provocations.
He further plans to discuss China's alleged provocations in the South China Sea, as well as the DPRK's alleged "threatening rhetoric" and "reckless actions".
"The Secretary will raise clearly and candidly our concerns on issues ranging from human rights, unfair economic and trade practices to the global economic consequences of PRC industrial over-capacity," the official said.
"He will discuss the crisis in the Middle East, and of course, the Secretary will discuss challenges in the Indo-Pacific, including PRC provocations in the South China Sea, as well as the DPRK's threatening rhetoric and reckless actions."
Other topics on concern include the crisis in Myanmar and the current tension in the Taiwan Strait.
