Secretary of State Anthony Brinken to visit China A high-stakes step takes place this weekend US seeks improved relations between worlds nasty superpower.
of Top US diplomats visit Beijing He was scheduled to meet with Chinese officials on Friday, but on Wednesday the State Department announced the postponement of his long-awaited visit to China. Canceled due to suspected Chinese reconnaissance balloon Fly over highly classified US military installations.
China’s foreign ministry has approved the visit and announced that Mr Blinken will visit from Sunday to Monday, June 18-19, state media reported.
But if that sounds like evidence of a “thaw” between Washington and China, then President Joe Biden would later have predicted something. Months of deepening tensionsThe announcement came after a phone call between Mr. Brinken and the Chinese side, which was apparently interpreted in very different ways by both sides.
After the call, the State Department released a neutral statement, talking about maintaining open lines of communication, while China’s Foreign Ministry openly criticized the United States.
“Since the beginning of the year, China-US relations have faced new difficulties and challenges,” Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said, according to a read-out of the phone call by the Chinese government. “The US side should respect China’s interference in its internal affairs and stop undermining China’s sovereignty, security and development interests in the name of competition,” he said.
U.S. officials have downplayed these Chinese aspects, with White House Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell telling reporters in a phone call before the visit that China “remembers that diplomacy with the U.S. remains important. We saw other signs that they were aware of it,” he said.
Nevertheless, the difference in tone of the statements highlights just how far apart the United States and China still seem.
“What China seeks is maximum clarity, the exact opposite of the ‘ambiguity’ that the United States advocates,” said Lu Xiang, a Hong Kong-based professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a top Chinese government think tank. Stated. Lu told NBC News that the reading of the US call showed “a US desire to genuinely improve US-China relations.” Even with Mr Blinken’s visit, “the rift between the two countries will continue for quite some time.”
The already controversial relationship has plummeted to its lowest level in decades since the spy balloon riot, exacerbated by news of Taiwan, Russia’s war with Ukraine and the recent Chinese spy base in Cuba. . Beijing accuses the United States of arguing that its public mediation efforts have been undermined by sanctions and other efforts to prevent its rise.
There is also evidence that this animosity is not just between governments.
On Tuesday, Hong Kong police arrested a man from mainland China for allegedly spraying anti-American graffiti on the US consulate in Hong Kong. Footage from local broadcaster TVB showed Chinese characters for “double standards” and the English word “hegemony,” meaning the superiority of a country, sprayed in white on the walls of the building.
Mr. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping have shown some willingness to move on from what Mr. Biden called the “stupid balloon” incident and mend their battered ties. But the US side claims that attempts to resume high-level diplomacy have been rejected.
While trying to protect its $600 billion trade relationship, China is frustrated with the US approach to restricting exports of certain high-tech products to China citing national security concerns and criticizing human rights. continues to express
A meeting was held among the senior officials. However, China has rejected a meeting between the two defense secretaries, and the long-awaited phone call between Mr. Biden and Mr. Xi has not materialized.
Mr. Blinken’s visit to Beijing is the first by a Secretary of State since 2018, and the first ministerial-level visit by a high-ranking official of the Biden administration, raising expectations for a breakthrough.
State Department spokesman Matt Miller said he would meet with Chinese officials during his visit to “discuss the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to responsibly manage” relations with the United States. “He will also raise the possibility of cooperation on bilateral concerns, global and regional issues, and common transnational challenges.”
Assistant Secretary of State Dan Krittenbrink told reporters that the United States wanted to maintain open communications to “reduce the risk of miscalculation.”
A few close calls have occurred recently. US and Chinese aircraft and Ships in the South China Sea. The Chinese government has fiercely declared ownership of the resource-rich shipping hotspot, a claim disputed by neighboring countries and not recognized under international law.
According to the State Department, Blinken will travel to London to meet with heads of state from Britain, Ukraine and other countries, and to attend the Ukraine Reconstruction Conference.
The US wants to “de-risk” its relationship with China. The new terminology essentially means trading with China while restricting certain exports, such as technology that can be used for military purposes. Meanwhile, the United States wants to continue criticizing China on issues such as human rights, Taiwan, and China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea.
White House Indo-Pacific Coordinator Campbell said the Biden administration “mitigates risk, but decoupling is not the goal.” “China will take provocative measures from the Taiwan Strait to Cuba, and we will retaliate,” he added. added.
To many inside and outside the Chinese government, this is unacceptable, and the US seems to be trying to get both ways.
Yuyuan Dantian, a prominent social media commentator for China’s state-run broadcaster CCTV, said, “Every time we talk about the talks, it’s a false illusion that the United States is so intent on playing games with China that they want to communicate. are creating,” he said. on tuesday. “But at the same time, they repeatedly test and provoke on the question of China’s interests and principles.”
