US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Beijing as part of a much-anticipated mission to reboot relations between the two countries, which have been strained after an alleged balloon Chinese spy who flew to North America.
Blinken is the first secretary of state to visit China since 2018, a reflection of Beijing’s strict coronavirus pandemic lockdown, but also how US-China relations have fallen to their lowest level in decades.
The top US diplomat began two days of meetings with officials on Sunday, but it is unclear if he will meet with President Xi Jinping, as bilateral relations have been on a downward spiral in recent years. year.
The US is concerned about China’s military activity around Taiwan and its refusal to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, while Beijing accuses Washington of trying to curb its ambitions by imposing controls. to export advanced technology and expand security arrangements with allies in the region.
The relationship reached its peak after an alleged Chinese spy balloon passed over sensitive military areas before being shot down by the US in February.
Blinken’s trip is designed to follow the meeting between President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Bali in November, when the leaders agreed to create a “floor” under the relationship. But the plan was derailed in February when Blinken canceled a visit to China because of the balloon.
Last month, there were signs of progress. The Financial Times reported that CIA director Bill Burns secretly visited China in May. In the same month, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with Wang Yi, China’s top foreign policy official, in Vienna. Biden later said at the G7 in Hiroshima, Japan, that he expected an imminent “thaw” in relations.
A senior US official said relations were now “at a place where we can continue the Bali agenda”.
“That’s what this trip is about,” said the official, who warned that Blinken was “very clear” that progress would be “difficult” to achieve.
“This trip is an engagement, not a detente. It is necessary to stop the freefall of relations and find a basis for stability,” said Evan Medeiros, an expert at Georgetown University China. “The two countries need and want the meeting not to be spoiled, but it is too early to talk about success.”
Daniel Kritenbrink, the state department’s top official for east Asia, said Blinken had three goals, including the need for communication channels to ensure competition “does not turn into conflict”.
Dennis Wilder, a former CIA expert on China, said the visit would end a period of “deep turmoil” but would do little to resolve “fundamental mistrust”.
“The Chinese remain angry at Secretary Blinken’s postponement of his visit earlier this year and his public warnings to Beijing at the Munich Security Conference. [in February] about China’s potential lethal aid to Russia,” he said.
Antony Blinken, left, with Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang before a meeting in Beijing on Sunday © Leah Millis/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
Wilder said Xi’s refusal to meet with Blinken, whom he was scheduled to see in February, was a “strong signal” that Beijing remains concerned about US moves to “de-risk” its economy from China, including holding back the technological progress of the latter. .
A Chinese scholar said Blinken’s trip would only be judged a success if he met Xi, adding that it would amount to a “snub” to see only Qin or Wang, who are not as powerful as the secretary of state. US.
While US officials say enough time has passed since the balloon incident to restart high-level meetings, it still hangs over the relationship.
The FT previously reported that China was reluctant to grant Blinken a visit because of concerns that the FBI would release the results of an investigation into the balloon, which China claims is a weather observation vessel. In a letter citing the FT story, 19 Republican senators this week urged Biden not to give in to China’s efforts to “coerce the US into silence” and release the FBI’s findings. immediately”.
Raja Krishnamoorthi, the top Democrat on the House China committee, said he had reviewed some material from the FBI related to the balloon, which he called “eye-opening”.
“For them [China] to call it a weather balloon. . . it doesn’t look good,” he added.
Asked Saturday if the trip would help ease tensions, Biden said Xi didn’t know what the balloon was doing. “This is more embarrassing than intentional,” Biden said, adding that he hoped to meet with Xi “in the next few months”.
Mike Gallagher, Republican head of the House China committee, told the FT that the president’s comments were “nonsensical and misleading”.
“We cannot mistake the Chinese Communist Party’s recent violations of our sovereignty and increasing aggression as mere accidents,” he said.
Some analysts say China may want a “tactical pause” in tensions to address its ailing economy, which is struggling to recover from strict Covid controls.
U.S. export curbs and China’s moves to tighten anti-espionage laws and curb foreign consultations also hurt investor sentiment.
But in a warning to those hoping for a quick thaw, China’s foreign ministry on Friday gave the US a tongue-lashing, accusing Washington of claiming to continue to seek “communication” while “undermining in China’s interest”.
In Washington, the Biden administration also faced criticism from Republicans, including Gallagher, who described the rapprochement efforts with Beijing as “zombie involvement”. This week, he told CNBC that reaching out to China with olive branches to induce involvement was an “invitation to aggression”.
But Krishnamoorthi, his Democratic counterpart, said the high-level meetings would help strengthen ties and were needed to clearly communicate with Beijing how aggressive behavior could “incite development”.
“Mike might like zombie movies . . . but it is very important that we have these talks, that we do everything we can to clarify and listen carefully at the same time and then try to find ways to discourage aggression,” he said.
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