Anthony Blinken in China – Trade relations, Russia and Taiwan on the agenda

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in Beijing today that he hoped the US and China would make “progress” at the start of his meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, who for his part pointed to growing differences between of the two great powers.

In his second visit to the Asian giant before a year is up, Mr Blinken made it clear he meant to raise sensitive issues in talks in the Chinese capital — Chinese trade practices that Washington sees as distorting competition, the Chinese support to Russia, the Taiwan affair…

For his part, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi noted that the relationship between the two powers is “beginning to stabilize” after the summit between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping in San Francisco in November. But “negative evidence is developing”, he added.

The bilateral relationship “is faced with difficulties of all kinds. China’s legitimate rights to development are under unfair pressure and our fundamental rights are being called into question,” he continued.

Will the relationship between China and the US “continue to move in the right direction, that of stability, or will it return to a downward trajectory?”, he wondered. “This is a major question that is asked in our countries and it tests our sincerity and our capabilities,” he added.

Opening his meeting with Wang Yi, Anthony Blinken said he would be “very clear, very direct” and that he hoped to ensure “progress on issues that our presidents agree on.”

The two countries should also be “as clear as possible in areas where we have divergent views, at least to avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations,” he suggested.

“This is truly a responsibility that we share, not only for our own peoples, but also for the peoples of the whole world,” he insisted.

The head of American diplomacy made the first stop of his trip in Shanghai yesterday Wednesday and yesterday Thursday afternoon he flew to Beijing.

No meeting between Mr Blinken and Chinese President Xi Jinping has been announced, at least so far. However, during the previous visit of the US Foreign Minister to Beijing, in June 2023, the meeting between the two men was organized and announced at the last minute.

Source: RES-MPE