Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will travel to China on Wednesday to try to maintain the recently fragile stability in the relationship between the United States and China, as tensions over trade, territorial disputes and security nation once again threatens to derail relations.
Even as Mr. Blinken’s plane approached Shanghai, the challenges ahead remained clear. He will land just hours after the US Senate pass a billwhich President Biden is expected to quickly sign into law, provides $8 billion to Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region, and could also lead to a nationwide ban on the Chinese-owned app TikTok.
The political season in the United States is also approaching a complicated matter. As the presidential election approaches, Democrats and Republicans are competing to appear tougher on China. And if former President Donald Trump is re-elected, he could reverse efforts by Beijing and Washington to stabilize the relationship.
During Mr. Blinken’s three-day trip, which will also include a visit to Beijing, he plans to pressure Chinese officials on a variety of issues, including the country’s support for Russia, cheap Chinese exports China, which US officials say threatens American jobs, and the China problem. a senior State Department official told reporters in a telephone briefing.
Chinese officials will likely mention US support for Taiwan, the self-governing island China claims, and trade restrictions that Beijing calls discriminatory.
Mr. Blinken is expected to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. It is unclear whether he will meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping. as he did on his last visitin June.
That visit – the first by a US secretary of state to China since 2018 – was perhaps the worst moment in US-China relations in recent years. High-level military communications were cut off and neighboring countries feared that the two powers might go to war.
Since then, the relationship has thawed somewhat. China’s economy is slowing and Beijing has adopted a softer diplomatic tone to attract more foreign investment. Washington, while continuing to warn that China poses a global security threat, has said it wants to keep communication open.
In November, Mr. Biden and Mr. Xi meet for four hours near San Francisco. China subsequently agreed to resume cooperation with the United States to combat global fentanyl production, and both countries affirmed the importance of restoring cultural exchanges. The two leaders also spoke by phone this month.
Last week, the countries’ top defense officials held a video conference, their first real engagement from the end of 2022.
But new sources of tension are rising. Western officials have increasingly voiced concerns that China is supporting Russia in the war in Ukraine. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, during a visit to China earlier this month, warned of “Significant consequences” if Beijing provides material support. China still insists that is not the case while tightening relations with Moscow. Mr. Tap welcomed the Russian foreign minister this month and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is expected to visit China soon.
US officials also say China is dumping cheap electric vehicles and solar panels in foreign markets, hurting US companies. China has rejected these accusations and said it is an act aimed at protectionism.
Chinese ship’ aggressive behavior in disputed waters with the Philippines and Japan have also raised fears of a clash that could draw in the United States, a treaty ally of those countries.
Regarding Taiwan, perhaps the most sensitive issue in the US-China relationship, the island is about to be inaugurated new presidentLai Ching-te – whom Beijing criticizes as a supporter of Taiwan independence – next month.
Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun told US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in a phone call that China would “not allow compromise” with Taiwan, according to the newspaper. read Chinese.
In the United States, anti-China rhetoric is likely to increase as Democrats and Republicans compete to outdo each other on one of the few areas of bipartisan agreement. Campaigning last week in Pennsylvania, a steelmaking stronghold, Mr. Biden calling for tax increases on importing steel from China
“We had high hopes after the San Francisco summit, but recent developments are causing a lot of tension,” said Xie Tao, dean of the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing University of Foreign Studies. for the relationship”. “When you add all these negative developments together, you get a pretty sad picture of the current US-China relationship.”
Both countries have reasons to try to prevent tensions from escalating. The United States has asked China to help restrain Iran, with which it has good relations, from pushing its hostility with Israel into an all-out war. And China is eager to prevent further tariffs from the United States, because Strong exports have kept the country in balance housing crisis and weak consumer spending.
But both countries may also have less room for diplomacy as public opinion on both sides hardens.
“There have been too many unpleasant and suspicious issues in the relationship between the two countries,” said Allen Carlson, a professor of international relations at Cornell University.
“If you have a pot that’s almost boiling, just add another degree or two and everything will spill over the edge.”
