Blinken Lands In China Amidst Widening Trust Deficit Over Fentanyl, Taiwan and Ukraine

SHANGHAI: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday amidst deepening distrust and a daunting array of unresolved issues threatening bilateral relations.

The visit comes after US Senate’s approval of a bill that provides billions of dollars in assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

“Many people noticed when he stepped off the plane, there seemed to be no red carpet on the ground,” Hu Xijin, who identifies as a media professional, said on X. “His China visit should be seen as an “imploring” one, although the US made some tough public opinion preparations in advance.”

🔹Blinken has arrived in Shanghai, China🇨🇳.

🔹Many people noticed when he stepped off the plane, there seemed to be no red carpet on the ground.

🔹His China visit should be seen as an “imploring” one, although the US made some tough public opinion preparations in advance. pic.twitter.com/t0KFXH8vnj

— Hu Xijin 胡锡进 (@HuXijin_GT) April 24, 2024

Blinken, who was received by Kong Fuan, Director General of the Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office, U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China R. Nicholas Burns and U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai Scott Walker upon his arrival, will meet business leaders in Shanghai before leaving for Beijing Friday for talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and a possible meeting with President Xi Jinping.

Blinken’s visit is the latest high-level contact between the two nations that have tried to tamp down the public acrimony that drove relations to historic lows early last year. But Washington has made little headway on curbing China’s supply of chemicals used to make fentanyl, and strains over Taiwan China’s backing of Russia in its war in Ukraine are intesifying.

In a short video statement posted to X with the Shanghai skyline in the background, Blinken said curbing the flow of fentanyl and synthetic opioid substances to the U.S. from China was one of several issues he was in China to work on. “Face to face diplomacy matters,” he said. “It is important for avoiding miscommunications and misperceptions, and to advance the interests of the American people.”

I’m in China to make progress on issues that matter most to the American people, including curbing fentanyl trafficking. We will discuss work underway to fulfill commitments made by @POTUS and President Xi last fall, as well as the areas where we have significant disagreements. pic.twitter.com/YMVN4LA6uD

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) April 24, 2024

Washington has so far refrained from sanctioning Chinese banks for the country’s support for Russia, because of the effects it could have across the global economy and on U.S.-China relations, but a senior State Department official told reporters on Friday that the US was prepared to “take steps” against Chinese firms that are damaging U.S. and European security.

A Chinese foreign ministry official quoted by local media said relations “have shown a trend of stopping decline and stabilizing,” since Biden and Xi met in San Francisco in November, and slammed what he described as Washington’s “stubborn strategy of containing China, and its erroneous words and deeds of interfering in China’s internal affairs, tarnishing China’s image and undermining China’s interests.”
(REUTERS)