IRIA News

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Beijing on April 24, 2024, for his second visit to China within a year. His three-day visit comes at a time as the United States increases pressure on its rival concerning its support for Russia, while also aiming to handle tensions with Beijing.

Blinken’s trip represents the most recent significant interaction between the two countries. China and the U.S. are seeking stability in relations over global trade to military dialogue, these interactions have helped alleviate the public hostility that plunged relations to unprecedented depths early last year.

Blinken started his visit from Shanghai, China’s largest financial hub, where he watched a Chinese basketball playoff game featuring teams with American players. Hid casual tour to Shanghai marked the first visit by a U.S. secretary of state to the vibrant city since Hillary Clinton in 2010.

Blinken’s tour is focused on easing the tensions between the two rival economies. Both American and Chinese hardliners had previously hinted at the possibility of a new Cold War between the nations.

I’m in China to make progress on issues that matter most to the American people, including curbing fentanyl trafficking. We will discuss work underway to fulfill commitments made by @POTUS and President Xi last fall, as well as the areas where we have significant disagreements. pic.twitter.com/YMVN4LA6uD

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) April 24, 2024

Blinken capped his visit to Beijing by meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping. Chinese leader Xi Jinping said the U.S. and China should be “partners rather than adversaries” as he met with top American diplomat in Beijing’s cavernous Great Hall of the People.

Blinken stressed the importance of “responsibly managing” the differences between the United States and China. “We are committed to maintaining and strengthening lines of communication to advance that agenda, and again deal responsibly with our differences so we avoid any miscommunications, any misperceptions, any miscalculations,” he said.

Blinken also raised the issue of China’s support for Russia during his meeting with President Xi Jinping. The U.S. Secretary of State conveyed to Xi Jinping a cautionary message, stating that the United States and its European counterparts stand prepared to enforce fresh sanctions on Chinese enterprises unless they cease providing materials and equipment to support the Russian arms sector.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Blinken stressed the importance of “responsibly managing” differences and avoiding miscalculations.

Xi told the top US diplomat that China and US should be “partners rather than rivals”. pic.twitter.com/MB9z4C5OrL

— IRIA (@IRIA_Research) April 26, 2024

While speaking to the journalists about his three-day visit, Blinken acknowledged advancements in relations between the two countries since the November summit in San Francisco between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden.

He highlighted collaborative efforts in counter-narcotics, and the resumption of communication between the two nations’ militaries, and disclosed plans for the inaugural U.S.-China discussions concerning the security implications of artificial intelligence development, scheduled to occur in the forthcoming weeks.

Trade policy

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that at a meeting with China’s top official in Shanghai, Chen Jining, Blinken raised concerns about China’s “trade policies and non-market economic practices.” Blinken also “stressed that the United States seeks a healthy economic competition with the PRC and a level playing field for U.S. workers and firms operating in China.”

For years, China’s substantial trade surplus with the U.S., coupled with allegations of intellectual property theft and other practices deemed discriminatory against American businesses operating in China, has been a major point of issue in bilateral relations.

Responding to Blinken’s comments later in the day, the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Wenbin, told a regular media conference that “China has always been carrying out economic and trade cooperation in accordance with the principles of the market.”

“We hope that the U.S. side will respect the principle of fair competition, abide by WTO rules, and work with China to create favorable conditions for the sound and steady development of China-US economic and trade relations,” said Wang.

During his time in Shanghai, Blinken engaged in discussions with business figures and met with American and Chinese students at New York University’s nearby campus. There, he emphasized the importance of intercultural exchanges as “the best way to make sure that we start by hopefully understanding one another”.

Meetings with top-brass

After concluding his trip in Shanghai, Blinken headed to Beijing where he met with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The meeting, which occurred on the concluding day of Blinken’s trip to China, took place amidst an expansion of discussions between the nations in recent months. However, despite this, differences have intensified and taken on greater significance, prompting worries about the possibility of conflict between the globe’s two largest economies.

Spoke with U.S. business leaders about the challenges and opportunities they face doing business here in China. I emphasized that both the U.S. and China can benefit from healthy economic competition, but that competition must be fair. pic.twitter.com/gkAtL5hpoB

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) April 25, 2024

As the pair settled into their opening session, Wang told Blinken that the “giant ship” of the China-U.S. relationship had stabilized, “but negative factors in the relationship are still increasing and building”.

“And the relationship is facing all kinds of disruptions. China’s legitimate development rights have been unreasonably suppressed and our core interests are facing challenges,” he said.

Both Blinken and Wang emphasized the necessity of maintaining open lines of communication, yet they also expressed concern over ongoing and deepening rifts that pose a threat to global security. These divisions came into sharp focus earlier this week when U.S. President Joe Biden signed a substantial foreign aid bill containing elements perceived as problematic by the Chinese.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reached a five-point consensus during talks in Beijing., according to Chinese media CGTN. These include:

• Both sides agreed to stabilize and develop China-U.S. relations, following guidance from their respective heads of state.
• High-level exchanges and contacts will be maintained across various fields, including diplomacy, economy, and military.
• The first meeting of the China-U.S. intergovernmental dialogue on artificial intelligence (AI) will be held, along with consultations on Asia-Pacific affairs, and maritime issues.
• Measures will be taken to expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges, including welcoming students and hosting the 14th China-U.S. Tourism Leadership Summit in Xi’an.
• Consultations on international and regional hotspot issues will continue, with strengthened communication between special envoys.

Russia support

In Beijing, Blinken switched gears to emphasize China’s backing of Russia’s defense industry. Before the meeting between Blinken and Wang Yi, U.S. State Department officials indicated that Washington was ready to act against Chinese firms aiding in the replenishment of Russia’s defense sector. In addition to addressing the conflict in Ukraine, the agenda encompassed U.S. support for Taiwan and trade relations between Washington and Beijing.

“Let me stress again that China’s right to conduct normal trade and economic exchanges with Russia and other countries in the world… should not be interfered with or disrupted,” China’s Foreign Minister Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said while answering a question about the U.S.’s concerns over China-Russia trades.

Differences over South China Sea and Taiwan

The two top diplomats also discussed matters related to the security affairs of the South China Sea and Taiwan. China’s persistent efforts to assert its contested sovereignty over the entire South China Sea have led to numerous confrontations with neighboring nations, including several allies of the US. One such ally is the Philippines.

Wang Yi outlined, without being specific, Chinese complaints about U.S. policies on the South China Sea and Taiwan, saying: “China’s legitimate development rights have been unreasonably suppressed and our core interests are facing challenges.”

Blinken emphasized that the Biden administration highly values dialogue with China, even on the issues of disputes. While noting some improvement in relations over the past year, he acknowledged that discussions would remain challenging.