U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to arrive in Shanghai on Wednesday, at a time when U.S.-China relations are more stable yet still burdened by numerous unresolved issues that could disrupt the relationship between the two global powers.
Blinken’s schedule includes meetings with business leaders in Shanghai before he travels to Beijing for discussions on Friday with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and a potential meeting with President Xi Jinping.
This visit marks another significant interaction between the U.S. and China, which have engaged in various working groups addressing issues ranging from global trade to military communications, helping to mitigate the severe discord that previously brought their relations to a low point last year.
But Washington and Beijing have made little headway on curbing China’s supply of chemicals used to make fentanyl, Taiwan remains a flashpoint, and strains are intensifying over China’s backing of Russia in its war in Ukraine.
While significant progress is unlikely during the visit, both countries want “open lines of communication to avoid awkward scenarios,” said Alfred Wu, associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.
Blinken will press China to stop its firms from retooling and resupplying Russia’s defence industrial base. Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022, just days after agreeing a “no limits” partnership with Beijing, and while China has steered clear of providing arms, U.S. officials warn Chinese companies are sending dual-use technology that helps Russia’s war effort.
Without providing details, a senior State Department official briefing reporters on Friday said Washington was prepared to “take steps” against Chinese firms it believes are damaging U.S. and European security.
The United States has preliminarily discussed putting sanctions on Chinese banks over the country’s support for Russia, but officials told Reuters they do not yet have a plan to do so.
Washington has so far stopped short of sanctioning major Chinese banks – long deemed by analysts as a “nuclear” option – because of the effects it could have across the global economy and on U.S.-China relations.
A Chinese foreign ministry official quoted by state news agency Xinhua on Tuesday said relations “have shown a trend of stopping decline and stabilising,” since Biden and Xi met in San Francisco in November.
But the official criticised what they called 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.”
CALL FOR ‘RESTRAINT’ OVER TAIWAN
The visit also comes after the U.S. Congress moved ahead this weekend with a bill that includes new funding for Taiwan and less than a month before the self-governing island inaugurates a new president, Lai Ching-te, who like his predecessor rejects China’s claim to the island.
The senior State Department official said parties should “avoid taking provocative actions that may raise tensions, and demonstrate restraint” ahead of the inauguration. “That will be our message going forward,” the official added.
An effort to force China’s ByteDance to sell the social media app TikTok or face a ban in the U.S. is also gaining steam in Congress, a sign of the growing appetite in Washington to confront Beijing on economic issues.
Blinken is also expected to raise human rights, including China’s treatment of Muslims in its western Xinjiang region.
Other U.S. officials have met or called their Chinese counterparts recently as part of the broader U.S. effort to keep lines of communication open.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was in Beijing and the southern factory hub of Guangzhou earlier this month, and last week Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Chinese counterpart for the first time in 18 months.
Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan has also held regular talks with Wang, aiming as the administration says, to responsibly manage competition between the two powers.
Despite ongoing tensions, there have been efforts to seek mutual understanding on various issues, including the conflict in the Middle East.
Following a purported Israeli attack on an Iranian consular building in Damascus earlier this month, Blinken communicated with Wang Yi, along with officials from other nations connected to Iran.
On April 11, a State Department spokesperson reported that Blinken’s discussions emphasised that escalation serves no one’s interests and that these countries should encourage Iran to avoid escalating the situation.
Wang Huiyao, founder and president of the Beijing-based think tank Center for China and Globalization, told Reuters that contact showed the potential of the two countries working together.
“They sell all their oil to China,” Wang said of Iran, “so when China says, ‘OK, you just stop,’ then they have to think about it.”
With Inputs From Reuters
