Ahead of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to China, US officials have adopted the tactic of expressing strong concern over China’s support for Russia and the Taiwan issue to put pressure on Beijing. Chinese observers, however, said that the recent frequent visits to China by Blinken and a number of US officials show that Washington cannot solve domestic and global problems without China’s cooperation.
Blinken will meet with senior Chinese officials in both Shanghai and Beijing during his 24-26 April visit, CNN reported on Saturday, citing a senior US State Department official.
Blinken will discuss “a range of bilateral, regional and global issues,” including the Middle East, the war in Ukraine, the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, the US State Department said on Saturday.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Blinken would also discuss progress in “resuming counternarcotics cooperation, military-to-military communications, artificial intelligence, and strengthening people-to-people ties” and reaffirm the importance for the United States and China to “responsibly manage competition, even in areas where our countries disagree,” according to media reports.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian welcomed Blinken’s visit at a press briefing on Thursday, but gave no further details.
Tensions remain
Although Sino-US relations have stabilised somewhat since the two leaders met in San Francisco last year, tensions remain. During Blinken’s visit to China, the Philippines and the US will hold the largest Balikatan exercise to date in an area that includes waters China recognises as its sovereign territory. Washington also deployed the Typhon medium-range surface-to-surface missile launcher in the region for the first time, despite Beijing’s objections. China reacted to the deployment of the system and the exercise, which came very close to it.
The trilateral and bilateral summits of the US, Japan and the Philippines at the White House in mid-April targeted China’s influence in the region while taking historic decisions on trilateral military and defence cooperation. Beijing sees the expansion of the US military and intelligence presence in the region through its Asian allies as an attempt to “contain” it, while Washington opposes it.
Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday that the purpose of Blinken’s visit was to implement the consensus of the two leaders, but given the so-called focus points announced by the US administration, it is possible that the visit will widen differences and create more negative factors.
Lü cited as an example the annual joint military exercises between Philippine and US forces, which are believed to be aimed at China.
During his visit, Blinken will also reportedly ask Beijing to refrain from “provocative” actions during next month’s swearing-in ceremony for Lai Ching-te, who was elected Taiwan’s regional leader in January, AFP quoted a US official as saying.
Chinese experts say the Biden administration is trying to “show some teeth” on global issues because of the upcoming US presidential election, but also because Biden wants to stabilise relations with China to avoid possible incidents that could harm his election chances.
Aid package for Ukraine
CNN quoted a US State Department official as saying on Saturday that Blinken plans to “reiterate our deep concerns about the PRC’s support for Russia’s defence industrial base, as well as its human rights abuses and unfair economic and trade practices”.
The US House of Representatives on Saturday approved billions of dollars in new US military aid to Ukraine. The foreign aid package passed on Saturday also includes military support for Israel and funding for allies in the Asia-Pacific region, including the island of Taiwan.
According to Chinese experts, after overcoming the obstacles to sending aid to Ukraine, Washington will inevitably focus on blocking China’s trade with Russia. China will face a new challenge from the United States in defending its sovereignty in foreign trade, they said, while Washington should be aware that it has few tools to pressure China on this issue.
