Blinken heads to Beijing for bilateral talks
U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit Beijing this weekend for talks aimed at boosting the world’s most important bilateral relationship.
Blinken will hold meetings in China on June 18-19 and may meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, sources said.
He will be the highest-ranking U.S. government official to visit China since Biden took office in January 2021.
In a pre-trip briefing on Wednesday, U.S. officials said they have no expectation the trip will yield a breakthrough in how the U.S. and China deal with each other.
They however expect the visit to pave the way for more bilateral meetings in the coming months, including possible trips by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
While Blinken’s main goal will be “candid, direct and constructive” discussions, the U.S. officials said, breakthroughs are not likely on any major issues, including the flow of fentanyl precursors and Americans detained in China.
“Beijing agreed to the visit because it seems to be the one thing that is blocking many other things, such as working-level dialogues and the visits by other cabinet members,” said Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington.
The visit, which could set the stage for a flurry of other diplomatic engagements including a meeting between Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden later in the year, would show that the two rivals have not given up on diplomacy.
“Both sides want to show the rest of the world that they are managing the relationship responsibly,” said Andrew Small, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund’s Asia program.
“For China, the most important audience is the global south. For the U.S., it’s partners and allies. So even going through the motions has some utility for both Washington and Beijing.”
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Bilateral ties have deteriorated across the board, raising concerns that their rivalry could veer into conflict over Taiwan, which China claims as its own.
“Facing the situation in the Taiwan Strait, I have repeatedly stressed that we will not escalate conflicts let alone provoke disputes, but we will firmly defend national sovereignty,” Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen told senior naval officers on Friday.
The United States and China are also at odds over issues ranging from trade and microchips to human rights.
Particularly worrisome for China’s neighbors has been its reluctance to allow regular military-to-military talks between Beijing and Washington, despite repeated U.S. attempts.
U.S. officials said on Wednesday that setting up crisis communication channels to reduce risk was a top priority.
“Anything that would lead to greater cooperation, greater dialogue and a lessening of tensions between Beijing and Washington is to be welcomed,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Wednesday.
