US Secretary of State Antony Blinken waves as he prepares to depart Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport en route to Beijing, on April 25, 2024.
Mark Schiefelbein | AFP | Getty Images
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday, amid tense relations between the two countries in light of their struggle for technological superiority, with differences over the conflict in the Middle East and the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Speaking ahead of his closed-door meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Blinken said there was no alternative to “direct diplomacy” and stressed the need for the US and China to avoid “miscalculations”.
He told reporters that the two sides must ensure that “we are as clear as possible about the areas where we disagree, at least to avoid misunderstandings, to avoid miscalculations.”
In his remarks, Wang told Blinken that US-China relations are “beginning to stabilize” with increased dialogue and cooperation.
“This is something that our people and the international community welcome,” he added, but warned that “negative factors” were increasing and accumulating, and this was causing “all kinds of unrest.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) shakes hands with Director of the Office of China's Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing on June 19, 2023. (Photo by Leah Millis/Pool/AFP) (Photo by Leah Millis/Pool/AFP) French Press via Getty Images)
Leah Millis | AFP | Getty Images
He added, “China's legitimate development rights have been unreasonably suppressed and our basic interests are facing challenges,” calling on Washington “not to cross China's red lines.”
President Joe Biden met with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in San Francisco last year on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference.
In early April, during a phone call with Xi — the first such phone meeting since July 2022 — Biden raised a range of American concerns, according to a White House readout of the call.
Charged relationships
Tensions have been rising for years, from the trade war to the fallout from an alleged Chinese spy balloon over US skies. Recently, the United States accused China of aiding Russia's military efforts in Ukraine.
Before Blinken's visit, a senior US State Department official said the top US diplomat was planning to warn Beijing against supporting Russia's efforts to rebuild its defense base, which threatens to undermine European security.
On Thursday, Blinken met with the Secretary of the Communist Party in Shanghai, Chen Jining, and “raised concerns about trade policies and non-market economic practices,” according to the US State Department.
Spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement that Trump stressed that “the United States seeks healthy economic competition” with China and provides equal opportunities for American workers and companies operating in the country.
This was Blinken's second trip to China after a high-stakes diplomatic mission to calm tensions between the United States and China in June last year.
Blinken said on Friday that it was important to demonstrate that we are “responsibly managing the most important relationship.”
He added: “I hope that we can make some progress on the issues that our two presidents agreed we need to cooperate on, but also clarify our differences and intentions, and make clear to each other where we stand.”
