On Friday, April 26th, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. This meeting comes at a time when tensions between the US and China have escalated due to Chinese support for Russia and the technological competition between the two countries.
According to a summary of the meeting released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of cooperation between the two countries. He stated that the US and China should be partners, not adversaries, and should seek common ground while respecting differences, rather than engaging in hostile competition.
During the meeting, Xi also expressed concerns from Beijing regarding the US’ alliance with other countries. He criticized the US for forming “cliques”.
Blinken, on the other hand, expressed his satisfaction with recent military communications between the US and China. “We are committed to maintaining and strengthening channels of communication,” he said, adding that this can help prevent miscalculations.
According to Bloomberg, Josef Gregory Mahoney, an international relations professor at East China Normal University in Shanghai, believes that diplomatic visits between the two adversaries are becoming a “Trojan horse” emphasizing their differences.
He added, “This seems to be the ‘fence’ in the American mind. This helps stabilize the relationship between the two countries, preventing the dangerous tipping point experienced last year, while still moving towards a Cold War mode.”
To counter the increasing military threat posed by China in the Indo-Pacific region, the US has restricted the export of high-end technology to China. Shortly before Blinken’s arrival in China on Wednesday, President Biden signed a bill that includes providing about $8.1 billion to counter China’s actions in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as providing defense assistance to Taiwan and Ukraine. This further highlights the escalating tensions between the US and China. The bill also includes a requirement for Chinese companies ByteDance and TikTok to divest their operations in the US, otherwise facing a complete ban on TikTok by the US.
Earlier on Friday, Blinken held a five and a half hour meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, which included a working lunch.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that during the “substantive and constructive” talks, the US raised issues such as Chinese support for Russian military-industrial bases, peace in the Taiwan Strait, and Chinese military activities in the South China Sea.
On the day Blinken departed for Beijing from the US, The Wall Street Journal reported that the US is drafting sanctions as a diplomatic bargaining chip for negotiations with China. These sanctions could sever some Chinese banks’ ties to the global financial system.
US officials hope that by signaling the warning of cutting off dollar channels through Chinese banks, Blinken could persuade the Chinese government to halt military support to Russia.
In the meeting with Blinken, Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi acknowledged that the “negative factors in US-China relations are still accumulating.” He urged the US to stop spreading propaganda about “China’s overcapacity,” lift sanctions on Chinese companies, and cease imposing additional 301 tariffs.
The US is calling on the European Union to join forces in opposition to China’s industrial policies. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently warned Chinese leaders that China’s cheap exports are a global concern. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated this view multiple times during his recent visit to China.