On April 22, 2024, it was announced that U.S. Secretary of State Blinken will be visiting China from April 24 to 26. This marks Blinken’s second visit to Beijing within a year. The key topics on Blinken’s agenda for this visit include raising concerns with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on issues such as human rights, unfair economic and trade practices, China’s industrial overcapacity, and CCP’s support for the Russian defense industry.
This visit comes as a response to an invitation extended by Wang Yi, a member of the Central Political Bureau of the CCP and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Blinken’s last visit to Beijing occurred less than a year ago in June. It is noteworthy that this will be the second visit by a member of the Biden administration’s cabinet to China within a span of just two weeks, highlighting the uncommonly frequent engagements between the two sides.
Prior to Blinken, the U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen visited China from April 4 to 9. The upcoming visit by Blinken will see him accompanied by Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink, Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Todd Robinson, and Ambassador at Large for the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Cybersecurity and Digital Policy Nathaniel Fick.
On April 11, Blinken had a phone call with Wang Yi to discuss the Middle East situation. Additionally, on April 16, U.S. Defense Secretary Austin and his Chinese counterpart conducted a video call, marking the first contact between the defense ministers of the two countries in over a year, although both sides presented differing viewpoints during the conversation.
Just before Blinken’s visit, on April 20, the Chinese Ambassador to the U.S., Xie Feng, faced protests from at least three students during a public event at Harvard University. The protesters condemned China’s human rights violations and expansionist behavior.
While Xie Feng was delivering a speech at Harvard, dozens of protesters from various ethnic backgrounds gathered outside the venue, chanting slogans denouncing the CCP’s human rights abuses and aggressive actions.
Before Blinken’s visit, President Biden had engaged in the first trilateral summit with the leaders of Japan and the Philippines, signaling a unified stance against China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Concurrently, the Biden administration planned to significantly increase tariffs on Chinese steel and iron exports.
Blinken’s upcoming visit aligns with the U.S. launching a Section 301 investigation into China’s shipping, logistics, and shipbuilding industries. Evidence presented in the U.S. Congress suggests that China continues to subsidize fentanyl exports and multiple warnings have been issued to refrain from supporting the Russian defense industry.
A senior official from the U.S. State Department highlighted that Blinken’s visit to China will not only uphold prior commitments but also focus on advancing cooperation on drug control, strengthening military communications, and addressing American concerns regarding human rights, unfair economic practices, China’s industrial overcapacity, and CCP’s support for the Russian defense industry.
The official stated, “Secretary Blinken will also discuss challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, including China’s provocations in the South China Sea, threats and reckless actions from North Korea, the crisis in Myanmar, and reaffirming the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
During the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting held in Italy on April 18, the U.S. accused Beijing of aiding Russia’s military expansion and reconstruction of defense industry bases.
At a press conference held in Italy, Blinken indirectly criticized Beijing for exacerbating the conflict in Ukraine, stating, “China cannot indirectly promote the biggest threat to European security since the end of the Cold War if it wishes to maintain friendly relations with Europe and other countries.”