Xi Jinping’s meeting with Blinken “clearly communicates differences” and Russia becomes the focus of the confrontation – BBC News Chinese

On April 26, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with US Secretary of State Blinken in Beijing, after the latter concluded his second visit to China in less than a year.

Before this trip, the outside world originally thought that financial sanctions and the TikTok ban would become the focus of the negotiation table. On the one hand, the Wall Street Journal quoted sources as saying that the United States was drafting a financial sanctions plan against China; on the other hand, the U.S. Congress passed the ban on TikTok. The “sell or ban” bill.

However, it is clear from Blinken’s press conference after the meeting and his interview with the BBC that Russia is the focus of this trip.

According to China’s official media, Xi Jinping said during the meeting, “This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States. The 45 years of Sino-US relations have gone through ups and downs and given us many important revelations: the two countries should be partners, not opponents. ; We should achieve each other’s success instead of hurting each other; we should seek common ground while reserving differences instead of vicious competition…”

Blinken reviewed the development and changes in Sino-US relations since his last meeting with Xi Jinping. He said that Sino-US relations were in “profound tension” at that time. Since Biden and Xi Jinping met in San Francisco last year, the relationship between the two countries has made “important progress.”

Blinken described the Sino-US relationship as the “most consequential relationship” in the world, so it is necessary to continue to “communicate clearly about our differences” to “minimize the risk of miscalculation and misunderstanding.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen and Secretary of State Blinken each visited China twice in less than a year. The United States has frequently dispatched special envoys to China to signal cooperation, and China has appeared to adopt a more conciliatory diplomatic tone in recent months.

However, the two countries are still in a state of confrontation. In the past month alone, the United States has introduced measures that China does not like, such as steel and aluminum tax increases, human rights reports, and a TikTok ban. China, on the other hand, constantly reminds itself of its “red lines” in terms of sovereignty, security and development, and warns the United States not to cross the line.

Rana Mitter, a professor of U.S.-Asia relations at Harvard Kennedy School, told the BBC that the talks showed that both China and the United States believe that the “temperature” of their relations needs to be lowered, and that neither side has any intention to engage in foreign affairs in Taiwan. open conflicts over issues such as sovereignty.

“The United States is already beleaguered by conflicts involving Ukraine and its allies in the Middle East, and the last thing it needs is a war in East Asia.”

“China also has incentives to speak loudly but not necessarily take action,” Mittel said.

Mittel said China’s economy is not doing well either. In recent years, youth unemployment has remained high, consumer spending has declined, and the real estate market has declined.

He added: “While achieving growth will never be easy… getting involved in an East Asian war or confrontation is the surest way to destroy an economy.”

BBC Washington correspondent Tom Bateman

I was part of Blinken’s traveling group of reporters throughout the trip, which took off from Washington early on Tuesday and finally arrived in Beijing on Thursday night after a 20-hour flight, including refueling.

Blinken’s meeting with Xi Jinping had been anticipated but not made public until the last minute – which is quite normal at such an event, since in the ranking of all the important diplomatic meetings around the world, this was the meeting between the president and the foreign minister . According to etiquette between the two countries, such a meeting will not be announced in advance.

But this “unobtrusiveness” is consistent with the tone of the entire trip. There was neither a red carpet nor a warm welcome. I saw Blinken largely trying to keep a polite but tough look on his face at the start of his talks with his Chinese counterparts. More harsh than smiling.

It feels like the two sides are in a standoff: one superpower recognizing the status of another’s rising rival. Both sides are setting their own red lines and testing each other. Yes, both sides are working to rebuild dialogue and diplomacy after relations hit rock bottom early last year, but they are also aware that, as Blinken put it, if the world’s “most influential” Problems in a relationship can bring serious risks.

Over the past three days, both sides have made demands. Americans want the Chinese government to stop sending chips and manufacturing equipment to Russia because they say they will eventually be used to build weapons against Ukraine. China has asked Washington to back down on issues where it feels it has the right to make claims in its neighborhood. Don’t expect any big announcements later.

Just like this visit, both sides are playing tough.

Speaking in Beijing, Blinken said the United States seeks to improve its relationship with China but is also soberly aware of the challenges China poses “and our different visions for the future.”

He said at several different meetings and press conferences that “without China’s support, Russia will have difficulty sustaining its offensive against Ukraine.”

He said China continues to supply Russia with machine tools, chips and items needed for ammunition and rocket propellant, as well as “dual-use items that Moscow uses to strengthen its defense industrial base,” which he said are being used by Russia against Ukraine.

Blinken warned that Washington would take action if China did not stop supplying Russia with materials used to attack Ukraine. He told the BBC in Beijing that he had made it clear to China that China was “fueling” the “biggest threat” to European security since the Cold War.

However, Chinese leaders denied providing weapons to Ukraine, and a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded that this was an “unfounded accusation against normal economic and trade exchanges.” They also gave no indication during Blinken’s visit that they would heed his warnings.

The spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs added: “We urge the United States not to try to shift the responsibility to China.” The United States should make concrete efforts to politically resolve the Ukraine crisis.

Blinken did not disclose what measures the United States might take, such as economic sanctions, if China fails to do so.

Wang Yi also criticized similar statements made by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. Wang Yi claimed that “more than 60% of weapons parts and dual-use products imported by Russia come from the United States and the West.”

Wang Yi said that NATO has an “inevitable responsibility” in the conflict in Ukraine and that the military alliance should “reflect on its role.”

The war in Ukraine has been going on for more than two years, with Russian forces gaining territory in recent months. However, the U.S. Congress approved $61 billion in new military aid to Ukraine earlier this week, and the Biden administration said the aid will reach the Ukrainian military within days.

In addition, although Blinken mentioned issues such as the South China Sea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Tibet, they did not become the focus of this trip.

Celia Hatton, Asia Pacific Editor, BBC

Blinken reserved his strongest words for China’s alleged dealings with Russia – scolding the Chinese government for allowing the war in Ukraine to continue through so-called economic support.

Such a blatant rebuke to China in the Chinese capital exposes China’s apparent failure to tread lightly among its key interests.

The war in Ukraine has created a nightmare scenario for China – a war that pits one of China’s main allies, Russia, against China’s main economic partners, the United States and the European Union.

To balance this, China has tried to position itself as a potential mediator in the war in Ukraine.

So far, China has not provided full military support to Russia. But China is also padding Moscow’s bank accounts with its massive purchases of Russian oil.

And, as Blinken said, Beijing also provides dual-use products to build Russian rockets, drones, tanks and other weapons.

Blinken chose to cater to Xi Jinping’s interests as an international statesman.

He was careful to praise Beijing’s diplomatic successes – noting that Moscow repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine last year and crediting China with bringing Russia back from the brink.

The United States is now calling on Beijing and Xi Jinping to play that role again.

• Both sides agreed to continue to follow the guidance of the two heads of state and strive to stabilize and develop Sino-US relations. The two sides affirmed the positive progress made in dialogue and cooperation between China and the United States in various fields since the meeting in San Francisco, and agreed to speed up the implementation of the important consensus reached by the two heads of state in San Francisco.
• Both sides agreed to maintain high-level exchanges and contacts at all levels. Continue to play the role of the restored and newly established consultation mechanisms in the fields of diplomacy, economy, finance, commerce and other fields. Continue to carry out exchanges between the two militaries. Further promote Sino-US cooperation on drug control, climate change, and artificial intelligence.
• The two sides announced that they will hold the first meeting of the China-US Intergovernmental Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence; continue to advance consultations on the Guiding Principles of Sino-US relations; hold a new round of Sino-US consultations on Asia-Pacific affairs and Sino-US maritime affairs; and continue Sino-US consular consultations. The China-U.S. Anti-Drug Working Group will hold a senior officials meeting. The United States welcomes China’s special envoy for climate change Liu Zhenmin to visit the United States.
• The two sides will take measures to expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries, welcome students from each other’s countries, and successfully organize the 14th China-US High-Level Tourism Dialogue to be held in Xi’an, China, in May.
• The two sides maintained consultations on international and regional hotspot issues, and the special envoys of both sides strengthened communication.

One of the more novel ones is that “the two sides announced that they will hold the first meeting of the China-U.S. Intergovernmental Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence.”

Blinken said that in the coming weeks, the United States and China will exchange views on the risks of artificial intelligence (AI).

Li Cheng, founding director of the Center for Contemporary China and World Studies at the University of Hong Kong, told BBC Chinese earlier that it can be seen from the San Francisco meeting that although China and the United States are highly competitive, they have set bottom lines. For example, in the field of AI, both sides have agreed to prohibit AI from controlling nuclear weapons. and drones, which shows that both parties are aware of the tragic consequences behind it.

The second is to “expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries and welcome students from the other country.” While communicating with teachers and students at New York University in Shanghai, Blinken said that President Biden and President Xi are determined to strengthen ties between the two peoples, including educational exchanges.

He introduced that there are currently approximately 300,000 Chinese students in the United States, and more than 100,000 new student visas were issued to Chinese last year.

But “unfortunately, the number of American students here in China has dropped from about 15,000 more than ten years ago to about 800 now. Due to various reasons during the epidemic, the number of American students in China was at its lowest when it was only about 300 people.”

Blinken said, “We want to re-establish that connection because, again, I reiterate, it is very important to build this connection. Of course, we want to have an environment as possible where American students feel welcome here, just as we want Make sure Chinese students are welcome in the United States.”

It is worth mentioning that at the press conference after the meeting, Blinken was asked whether he mentioned TikTok. The platform has just been required by a bill in the U.S. Congress to be sold within nine months or it will be banned in the United States. Blinken said: “No, there was no mention of TikTok.”

He then turned to the economic relationship between the two countries – noting that China is the United States’ third-largest trading partner.

Blinken vowed that U.S. trade interest in the Chinese market “remains strong” but reiterated a point he made in his speech about the need for “a level playing field.”

He noted that overcapacity is “front and center of the discussion,” so he doesn’t want tariffs to be unfair and harm U.S. businesses.