2023-06-18 08:19:15
- Anthony Zucker
- North American Correspondent
US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln, who visited China on the 18th, shakes hands with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang.
US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln visited China for two days on the 18th (local time). It has been almost five months since relations between the two countries deteriorated significantly due to the controversy over China’s reconnaissance balloons.
Earlier, Minister Blincoln’s existing visit to China was suddenly canceled as a balloon that China claimed was for weather observation was shot down by a US aircraft while crossing US airspace.
Minister Blincoln is scheduled to meet with top Chinese diplomatic officials in China. On this day, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Microsoft founder Bill Gates, but it is unknown whether he will meet with Minister Blincoln.
There are various issues between the US and China, ranging from major antagonisms to potential areas of cooperation.
The following are three agenda items that can be addressed in this summit.
relationship recovery
Minister Blincoln’s visit to China is focused on reestablishing diplomatic relations above all else.
Last month, high-ranking officials from the two countries met in Vienna, Austria, to spark dialogue.
However, Minister Blincoln is the highest-ranking person to visit China among the US Biden administration. This is the first time a US Secretary of State has visited Beijing since October 2018.
Kurt Campbell, Deputy Assistant to the President and Indo-Pacific Coordinator at the White House National Security Council (NSC), said in a briefing before departure that now is a good time to resume dialogue because dialogue in itself reduces the risk of conflict.
“Differences that may divide us must not stand in the way of advancing global priorities on which we must all work together.”
Balloons believed to be used for reconnaissance sightings in Montana, Northern USA
However, China’s reaction to Minister Blincoln’s visit to China was somewhat apathetic.
China officially announced that in a phone call with Minister Blincoln on the night of the 14th, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said, “It is very clear who is responsible” regarding the recent deterioration in relations between the two countries.
“The United States must respect China’s concerns, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs, and stop doing anything that undermines China’s sovereignty, security and development interests in the name of competition,” Qin Gang said.
The U.S. believes that there is little chance of an important announcement being made following this meeting. In diplomatic terms, the only outcome of this meeting seems likely to be the very fact that it took place.
Daniel J. Krittenbrink, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia, said it would be difficult to expect any breakthroughs or changes in the way the two countries treat each other.
If this meeting leads to additional exchanges between US and Chinese officials, it is expected to be a cornerstone for the two countries to develop relations.
alleviate trade conflicts
Relations between US President Joe Biden and China got off to a rocky start. One of the causes was his unwillingness to undo the trade measures introduced by his predecessor, President Donald Trump.
Trade measures include imposing billions of dollars in import tariffs on goods produced in China.
Biden rather put more pressure on China in certain areas. Measures to restrict exports of semiconductors to China in order to maintain the United States’ superiority in the field of advanced electronic technology fall under this category.
China responded by banning the purchase of computer memory chips from Micron, the largest memory semiconductor company in the United States.
While acknowledging China’s concerns, Coordinator Campbell said the US would defend and explain what it has done and what might happen in the future.
While fierce competition between the two superpowers seems inevitable in computer technology, the illicit drug trade is an area where the two countries might work more together.
The US wants to restrict exports of a chemical from China used to make fentanyl, a synthetic opioid many times more potent than heroin.
Fentanyl-related deaths from drug overdoses in the United States have more than tripled in the past seven years.
“This is an absolutely important and urgent issue for the United States,” said Assistant Secretary Krittenbrink, but expressed his position that there are many issues that need to be addressed at home.
war prevention
After the Chinese reconnaissance balloon debacle, there were reports that China was considering sending Russia weapons that might be used immediately in the war in Ukraine.
U.S. officials recently backed down on these allegations, clearing the way for the dispute between Ukraine and Russia to escalate into a proxy war between the U.S. and China.
photo source, Lindle Markwell/BBC
Tensions between the U.S. and China over small islands in the Philippines are rising.
However, Minister Blincoln is expected to reiterate the warning that China will have serious consequences if it provides military and financial aid to Russia, as it did in Vienna.
The U.S. and Chinese warships are in a situation where they can run into a high-risk game of chicken in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. China claims the waters are its territorial waters, while the United States claims they are international waters.
The delegation, including Minister Blincoln, said that the purpose of this visit to China was to ease tensions, and that the resumption of dialogue was the starting point.
As the 2024 presidential election approaches, anti-China sentiment in Washington is likely to grow stronger, making it more difficult for President Biden to achieve more outcomes, including expanding cooperation in US-China relations.
A satisfactory result that the two countries can achieve through this meeting may simply be regarding opening a communication channel that can prevent military clashes.
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