US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference at the Beijing Center of the US Embassy in Beijing on June 19.
PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images
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PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference at the Beijing Center of the US Embassy in Beijing on June 19.
PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images
After the first trip of a US secretary of state to China since 2018, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the two days of diplomatic talks as “frank, substantive and constructive”, and acknowledged. two superpowers have “deeply different”.
wink said NPR Morning Edition host Leila Fadel that it is clear that the US relationship with China is “unstable” in the negotiations.
“Direct engagement, sustained high-level communication, is the best way to manage our relationship responsibly,” he added.
Chinese officials have expressed their desire to speak with senior officials, including Finance Minister Janet Yellen. The top US diplomat said more talks were expected, but he declined to say which officials might visit the country to discuss economic issues in the coming weeks. .
“I’ll leave that for the foreseeable future,” he said.
Blinken said that so far, Beijing has not agreed to resume military cooperation with the US, although he said he has raised the issue many times in meetings with Chinese officials.
“These military-to-military connections are extremely important if we are to avoid an unintentional conflict, and that has only strengthened in the past few weeks,” Blinken said. “We have witnessed… incidents at sea, in the sky are really dangerous and in our opinion are unprofessional.” He said the issue remained an “ongoing priority.”
The foreign minister emphasized the importance of cooperation in managing the “challenge” of Taiwan, as the two sides have done “for nearly five decades”, especially considering Taiwan’s important role in global trade. bridge.
“If there’s a crisis in Taiwan, then you have about 50% of global trade container traffic going through the Taiwan Strait every day. 50%. In fact, half of the world’s trade goes through it every day. day,” Blinken said. “You have about 70% of high-end semiconductors made in Taiwan. If either of those were to be shut down due to the crisis, it could have devastating consequences for the global economy, which is why countries around the world are paying more and more attention to the actions being taken that can disrupt the status quo.”
Management of foreign and domestic interests
Blinken said US officials “have a responsibility to protect, defend, and advance the interests of the United States and its people, and that’s what drives us in our relationship with China – and for that matter, with any other country.”
But “it would be irresponsible” to not engage with China, as well as “counterproductive to our interests”, he added.
Consistent communication is “the best way to avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations that could lead to conflict” and it is “probably the only way” to bring American detainees back from China, to “create fentanyl cooperation” and to “protect the interests of our workers and our companies operating in China.”
When asked if China is replacing the United States as a mediator of global conflicts, especially in the Middle East, Blinken said that the United States “remains the preferred partner” of the gulf countries.
“At the same time,” he added, “if China comes up with initiatives that really help solve problems… that’s a good thing and we support that.”
Blinken said some of China’s priorities in Ukraine “are very much in line with our priorities.” Blinken added that the US would welcome the country to act as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia as long as its efforts help establish a “just and lasting peace in Ukraine”.
