After 5 years of tensions; Blinken entered China.
According to Reuters, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Beijing on Sunday morning. Blinken, the first senior US diplomat to visit China in five years, arrives amid chilling bilateral relations and dim prospects for any progress in the dispute between Beijing and Washington.
Blinken is the highest-ranking US government official to visit China since US President Joe Biden took office in January 2021.
During his stay in Beijing, which runs until Monday, he is expected to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat and possibly President Xi Jinping, seeking to establish open and sustainable channels of communication to ensure There is no military conflict between China and America.
Blinken’s visit is also expected to pave the way for more bilateral meetings in the coming months, including possible trips to China by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Blinken’s trip to China could also pave the way for Xi and Biden to meet at multilateral summits later in the year.
Biden said on Saturday that he hopes to meet with President Xi in the next few months.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was greeted upon his arrival in China by US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns and Director General of the State Department’s North American and Pacific Affairs Bureau Yang Tao.
Last November’s meeting of the leaders of China and the United States on the Indonesian island of Bali briefly eased fears of a new Cold War, but relations between Beijing and Washington have been strained since a Chinese spy balloon flew over the United States.
The rest of the world will be watching Blinken’s trip closely because any escalation of tensions between the superpowers could have global implications for everything from financial markets to trade routes and practices to global supply chains.
“Both sides believe we should have channels of communication at the senior level,” a senior State Department official told reporters as Blinken’s plane made a refueling stop in Tokyo en route to Beijing.
“We are at an important point in the relationship, and I think reducing the risk of miscalculation and stopping the escalation of the relationship is something that both sides need,” the US official said.
The issue of Taiwan and America’s support for this island, which China considers a part of its territory, is considered the most important difference between Beijing and Washington. The United States has sold arms packages to the local government of Taiwan many times, and the visits of high-ranking American officials to the island in the past few months have met with China’s anger.
In a press conference before his departure to Beijing, Blinken said that he has three main goals on this trip: to establish mechanisms for crisis management, to advance the interests of the United States and its allies, and to talk directly about mutual concerns and explore areas of potential cooperation between the two countries.
An American official has said that among the topics that will probably be discussed during Blinken’s visit to China is the possible increase in commercial flights between the two countries; Because the increase of these flights helps to improve the relations between the people of the two countries.
