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Beijing: Minister of Foreign Affairs Anthony Blink The highest-profile trip by a US official to China in nearly five years began Sunday as the two powers looked to lower the temperature in a simmering rivalry.
Both sides expressed cautious hope to improve communication and prevent conflict, as the world’s two largest economies are at odds over a range of issues from trade to technology and regional security.
But officials played down hopes of a major breakthrough within two days with Linkin in Beijing.
He was originally scheduled to visit Blinken in February, but abruptly canceled his plans when the United States protested — and later shot down — what it said was a Chinese spy balloon flying over its territory.
US President Joe Biden downplayed the balloon ring while Blinken was on his way to China, saying, “I don’t think the leadership knew where it was, knew what was in it, and knew what was going on.”
“I think it was more embarrassing than it was intended,” Biden told reporters on Saturday.
Biden said he hopes to meet again with President Xi Jinping after their lengthy friendly meeting in November on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Bali, where they agreed to visit Blinken.
“I hope, over the next few months, to meet with Xi again and talk about the legitimate differences we have but also how there are areas we can live with,” Biden said.
The two leaders are likely to attend the next G20 summit in September in New Delhi, and Xi is invited to travel to San Francisco in November when the United States hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum.
Blinken will meet with senior Chinese officials including a banquet at the government guest house in the ancient Diaoyutai Gardens.
He said he would seek to avoid “miscalculation” and “responsible management” of relations with the country that US policymakers across party lines have identified as the greatest challenge to Washington’s global dominance.
“Stiff competition requires sustained diplomacy to ensure competition does not veer into confrontation or conflict,” Blinken said Friday in Washington.
The United States and China are at loggerheads on a wide range of issues, including trade, technology, and Taiwan.
Beijing has not ruled out taking over Taiwan by force and has conducted military exercises twice since August near the self-ruled democracy, in response to the actions of top US lawmakers.
Before Blinken’s visit, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Wang Wenbin He said the United States needed to “respect China’s core concerns” and “give up the illusion of dealing with China ‘from a position of strength’.”
Beijing has been particularly alarmed by Biden’s restrictions on exporting cutting-edge semiconductors to China, whose military application the US fears and is eager to prevent the communist country from dominating next-generation technologies.
In a growing domestic priority for the United States, Blinken is expected to pressure China to curb raw chemicals being sent to Latin America to produce fentanyl, the powerful painkiller behind an addiction pandemic that kills tens of thousands of Americans annually.
“We will discuss this issue directly, and we will look for steps to reduce the scale of the problem,” said a US official traveling with Blinken.
Washington has also criticized China over human rights, with Blinken’s visit the first by a cabinet member since the US formally accused Beijing of genocide against the Muslim Uighur minority.
As part of the Biden administration’s focus on keeping allies close, Blinken spoke by phone with counterparts from both Japan and South Korea during his 20-hour trans-Pacific trip.
Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, traveled to Tokyo for separate trilateral meetings involving Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.
In recent months, the United States has reached agreements on troop deployments in southern Japan and northern Philippines, both of which are strategically close to Taiwan.
Also before his departure, Blinken met in Washington with his counterpart from ally Singapore, who expressed his hope that the United States would remain a power but also find ways to coexist with a rising China.
Foreign Secretary Vivian Balakrishnan said Blinken’s trip was “necessary but not sufficient”.
“There are fundamental differences in outlook and values. It takes time to build mutual respect and strategic trust.”
Blinken is the first senior US diplomat to visit Beijing since his predecessor Mike Pompeo stopped by in 2018, who later advocated no-holds-barred confrontation with China in the final years of Donald Trump’s presidency.
The Biden administration has gone further than Trump in some areas, particularly semiconductors, but has remained open to cooperation in limited areas such as climate.
Experts say China sees more predictability with Biden than with Trump, who is running for president again next year.
Danny Russell, the chief East Asian diplomat during Barack Obama’s second term, doubted that Blinken’s short trip would resolve fundamental differences.
“But his visit may restart much-needed direct dialogue and send a signal that both countries are moving from angry rhetoric on the press podium to sober discussions behind closed doors.”
Both sides expressed cautious hope to improve communication and prevent conflict, as the world’s two largest economies are at odds over a range of issues from trade to technology and regional security.
But officials played down hopes of a major breakthrough within two days with Linkin in Beijing.
He was originally scheduled to visit Blinken in February, but abruptly canceled his plans when the United States protested — and later shot down — what it said was a Chinese spy balloon flying over its territory.
US President Joe Biden downplayed the balloon ring while Blinken was on his way to China, saying, “I don’t think the leadership knew where it was, knew what was in it, and knew what was going on.”
“I think it was more embarrassing than it was intended,” Biden told reporters on Saturday.
Biden said he hopes to meet again with President Xi Jinping after their lengthy friendly meeting in November on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Bali, where they agreed to visit Blinken.
“I hope, over the next few months, to meet with Xi again and talk about the legitimate differences we have but also how there are areas we can live with,” Biden said.
The two leaders are likely to attend the next G20 summit in September in New Delhi, and Xi is invited to travel to San Francisco in November when the United States hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum.
Blinken will meet with senior Chinese officials including a banquet at the government guest house in the ancient Diaoyutai Gardens.
He said he would seek to avoid “miscalculation” and “responsible management” of relations with the country that US policymakers across party lines have identified as the greatest challenge to Washington’s global dominance.
“Stiff competition requires sustained diplomacy to ensure competition does not veer into confrontation or conflict,” Blinken said Friday in Washington.
The United States and China are at loggerheads on a wide range of issues, including trade, technology, and Taiwan.
Beijing has not ruled out taking over Taiwan by force and has conducted military exercises twice since August near the self-ruled democracy, in response to the actions of top US lawmakers.
Before Blinken’s visit, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Wang Wenbin He said the United States needed to “respect China’s core concerns” and “give up the illusion of dealing with China ‘from a position of strength’.”
Beijing has been particularly alarmed by Biden’s restrictions on exporting cutting-edge semiconductors to China, whose military application the US fears and is eager to prevent the communist country from dominating next-generation technologies.
In a growing domestic priority for the United States, Blinken is expected to pressure China to curb raw chemicals being sent to Latin America to produce fentanyl, the powerful painkiller behind an addiction pandemic that kills tens of thousands of Americans annually.
“We will discuss this issue directly, and we will look for steps to reduce the scale of the problem,” said a US official traveling with Blinken.
Washington has also criticized China over human rights, with Blinken’s visit the first by a cabinet member since the US formally accused Beijing of genocide against the Muslim Uighur minority.
As part of the Biden administration’s focus on keeping allies close, Blinken spoke by phone with counterparts from both Japan and South Korea during his 20-hour trans-Pacific trip.
Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, traveled to Tokyo for separate trilateral meetings involving Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.
In recent months, the United States has reached agreements on troop deployments in southern Japan and northern Philippines, both of which are strategically close to Taiwan.
Also before his departure, Blinken met in Washington with his counterpart from ally Singapore, who expressed his hope that the United States would remain a power but also find ways to coexist with a rising China.
Foreign Secretary Vivian Balakrishnan said Blinken’s trip was “necessary but not sufficient”.
“There are fundamental differences in outlook and values. It takes time to build mutual respect and strategic trust.”
Blinken is the first senior US diplomat to visit Beijing since his predecessor Mike Pompeo stopped by in 2018, who later advocated no-holds-barred confrontation with China in the final years of Donald Trump’s presidency.
The Biden administration has gone further than Trump in some areas, particularly semiconductors, but has remained open to cooperation in limited areas such as climate.
Experts say China sees more predictability with Biden than with Trump, who is running for president again next year.
Danny Russell, the chief East Asian diplomat during Barack Obama’s second term, doubted that Blinken’s short trip would resolve fundamental differences.
“But his visit may restart much-needed direct dialogue and send a signal that both countries are moving from angry rhetoric on the press podium to sober discussions behind closed doors.”
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