The key sign that the visit was more successful than not is that towards the end of the visit, Blinken was received by Chinese President Xi Jingping. At one time, this was considered common practice in relations between the two countries, but against the background of their worsening and freezing of high-level contacts in recent years, this time such a meeting was not obvious. Thus, for the head of American diplomacy, this is the first visit to China for more than 4 years. They watched the guest closely until the very end and confirmed his audience with the PRC leader only 45 minutes before the meeting itself.
Despite the generally conciliatory tone of the statements after the meeting, the American media commented on the visit without much enthusiasm, affirming that disagreements between Washington and Beijing on many acute issues remain – these are trade disputes and human rights. Finally, as Blinken himself admitted, one of the main objectives of the visit – the restoration of dialogue between the military of the two countries – could not be resolved. Chinese media were not very complimentary to Blinken before the visit, but they chose a more restrained tone throughout the talks. And the Chinese newspaper Global Times even declared “positive expectations for the international community” of the Beijing meetings.
Blinken in the Chinese capital, by American standards, was quite diplomatic: he generally avoided the usual tone of attacks on the PRC for the United States, focusing on the mutual benefit of relations between the two countries. He said that “the United States does not seek a new cold war, does not want to change the PRC system, does not seek to confront China by strengthening alliances and does not intend to enter into conflict”. “It would simply not be in our interest to seek to break with China,” the diplomat added, pointing to the “enormous benefits” of the relationship and the strong investment and two-way trade of around $700 billion. Blinken also did not make harsh statements on Taiwan, saying the United States does not support its independence and intends to adhere to the “one China” principle, although he is alarmed by PRC military activity near the island. This time, the US secretary of state did not demand pressure from China on Russia, merely saying that Washington would welcome Beijing’s constructive role in resolving the conflict in Ukraine.
Blinken was first received by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who received an invitation to visit Washington, then by Wang Yi, head of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Commission Office for Foreign Affairs, which called for a choice “between cooperation and confrontation”. In Beijing, it seems, they were generally satisfied with the behavior of the guest, for which, at the end of the visit, he was nevertheless received by the President of the People’s Republic of China.
Xi Jinping expressed hope that the United States would “take a rational position”, calling for “mutual respect” for the sake of “stable relations”. According to him, the international community is worried about the current state of relations between China and the United States and does not want to “choose one of the two camps”. According to China Central Television, Xi Jinping asked the guest to greet US President Joe Biden, who has been trying for months to have a phone conversation with his Chinese counterpart.
The leader of the People’s Republic of China said “progress and agreements were reached on some specific issues” during the talks. In particular, the parties agreed to hold a series of working-level meetings to resolve specific bilateral issues. For example, the PRC and the United States could create a working group on chemicals used in the manufacture of drugs.
At the same time, despite the generally constructive tone of the talks, it should be kept in mind that the course toward rivalry with China is a common directive of all key political forces in Washington, enshrined in law. The United States is increasing its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region (APR) and its military support in Taiwan, while introducing various sanctions measures against China. The US administration will not abandon this path, but it seems that in times of acute confrontation with Russia, it seeks to avoid a simultaneous confrontation with China.
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