Xi Jinpingthe Chinese leader met with the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinkenin Beijing this Friday afternoon, as the two superpowers continued dialogue to manage a growing list of differences.
While the substance of the talks was confrontational, both sides refrained from harsher rhetoric. They also announced that in the coming weeks a new working group on artificial intelligencewhich reinforces the expectations of maintaining stable ties.
“China and the United States should be partners and not rivals”Xi told Blinken, according to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry. The two sides should “seek common ground and reserve differences, rather than engage in fierce competition,” she added.
Blinken’s harshest criticism was reserved for Beijing’s support for the Russian aggression in Ukraine. China is the leading supplier of military machine tools and a compound used in munitions and rocket propellant, he said. “Russia would have difficulty maintaining its attack on Ukraine without China’s support”he added, noting that the United States was willing to impose additional sanctions on Chinese companies.
Since Blinken last visited Beijing 10 months ago in what he called a moment of “deep tensions” (after the United States shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon), the leaders of both nations have committed to maintaining ties on a more secure basis. A US election campaign, in which Beijing is the main target on all sides of the vote, is now adding new volatility to the relationship.
President Joe Biden signed a law that could expel TikTokowned by China-based ByteDance, from the United States as Blinken headed to China, days after promising new tariffs on the Asian nation. The US leader also imposed a series of trade restrictions to block Beijing’s access to advanced chips, citing national security concerns.
Blinken signals more trade tensions with China
Blinken noted that more was coming trade tensions and emphasized that the issue of Chinese manufacturing overcapacity was now “front and center” in the relationship. “This is a movie we’ve seen before and we know how it ends: with the closure of American businesses and the loss of American jobs,” he said.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, Wang Yiaccused the United States of taking “endless measures to suppress China’s economy” during five and a half hours of conversations with Blinken, which included a working lunch. “This is not fair competition, but containment, and it is not about eliminating risks, but about creating risks,” she added, noting that while things were generally stable, “the negative factors” in the relationship were increasing.
Diplomatic visits between the two rivals are becoming “trojan horses” to emphasize the differences, according to Josef Gregory Mahoney, a professor of international relations at East China Normal University in Shanghai.
“This seems to be what the United States has in mind with security barriers,” he added. “It helps stabilize relations and prevent the kind of dangerous tipping points experienced last year while still moving toward a Cold War paradigm.”
Janet Yellen proposes new sanctions on Chinese financial institutions
The United States is bringing together the European Union to forge a common front against China’s industrial policy, and Treasury chief Janet Yellenwarned leaders in Beijing this month that its cheap exports were a concern for the world, a sentiment echoed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on a trip to the Asian nation days later.
Yellen also raised the possibility of new sanctions on Chinese financial institutions that the United States says are helping to prop up Russia’s defense industrial base, and that the United States is reportedly already drafting such measures.
Blinken promoted to Xi the progress made in military communication, after the defense ministers of both nations recently held their first call, as well as anti-narcotics cooperation. He also urged Beijing to use its influence to pressure Iran and limit conflict in the Middle East during meetings with Chinese leaders..
Other flashpoints in the relationship, such as peace over self-governed Taiwan, which the Chinese Communist Party considers its territory, and Beijing’s “dangerous” military activity in the South China Sea also figured in the talks, according to reports. American readings.
Blinken dedicated half of his trip to more relaxed engagements in Shanghai on Thursday. They included attending a basketball game, dining at a dumpling restaurant, taking a stroll along the colonial-era riverfront, and addressing American and Chinese students at a local New York University campus.
Few concrete results were expected from the American diplomat’s trip. But overall he showed that the two countries want to avoid an escalation of the conflict, he said. Allen Carlsonassociate professor in the Department of Government at Cornell University.
“They have also tacitly recognized that, as a result of their current economic interdependence, they still need each other,” he added. “But beyond those general points, there is little they agree on.”
