US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Shanghai a day before meeting with top Beijing officials, emphasizing the responsibility of both the US and China to “responsibly” address their differences and urging China to provide a fair competitive environment for American businesses.
Blinken’s visit to China was the latest high-level contact between the US and China. On Thursday, April 25, Blinken visited Shanghai, sampled local cuisine, watched a basketball game, and took a stroll along the famous Huangpu River waterfront. He is expected to meet with members of the American business community in Shanghai as well.
In a reception room overlooking the Shanghai skyline, Blinken met with local Chinese Communist Party leaders, including Chen Yin.
Blinken noted that the US-China relationship has been tense for many years, but the Biden administration believes that direct and continuous dialogue between the two countries is crucial.
“I think it’s important to emphasize the value of direct and continuous engagement, talking to each other, in fact, it’s necessary,” Blinken said.
He emphasized that the US and China should “address our real differences and seek ways to resolve them.”
“We have a responsibility to our people and, frankly, a responsibility to the world to responsibly manage the relationship between our two countries,” Blinken said.
Chen Yin, the Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, welcomed Blinken in English and discussed the importance of American businesses in Shanghai, emphasizing that “the US and China have the most important bilateral relationship in the world.”
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that during the meeting with Chen Yin, Blinken raised concerns about China’s “trade policies and non-market economic practices.”
He added that Blinken also stressed that “the US seeks healthy economic competition with China and a fair competitive environment for American workers and businesses operating in China.”
The US and China have recently resumed communication in global trade, military, and other areas, easing tensions that hit a low point early last year.
However, the US and China have been increasingly divided on issues such as the operating environment for American companies in China and China’s overcapacity problems. The Chinese government’s support for Russia in the Ukraine conflict has also heightened tensions between the two countries.
China has not announced plans for Blinken to meet with party leader Xi Jinping, but during Blinken’s visit to China in June last year, the meeting was also announced at the last minute.