Is Blinken visit a step closer with State Department’s China guru trip?
- Experts believe Rick Waters could be paving the way for the US secretary of state to reinstate his cancelled Beijing plans
- Waters was accompanied by consular officials during his meeting with senior figures of influential Shanghai think tank
Yang, a respected strategic affairs scholar and influential figure in China’s diplomatic establishment, is better known as the younger brother of former foreign policy chief and Politburo member Yang Jiechi, who stepped down in October.
In a post on social media platform WeChat, the SIIS said the two sides “had an in-depth exchange of views on China-US relations and other topics”, without elaborating.
According to a brief SIIS press release, Waters was accompanied by diplomats from the US consulate in Shanghai.
Also joining the meeting were Shao Yuqun, director of the Institute for Taiwan, Hong Kong & Macau Studies, and Zhang Chong, an assistant researcher at the Centre for American Studies.
US launches Office of China Coordination to ensure ‘nimbler’ policy
While Waters’ full itinerary was unclear, it was the first public trip to China by a senior US diplomat since December.
On that visit, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs Daniel Kritenbrink and National Security Council senior director for China and Taiwan Laura Rosenberger travelled to Langfang, a city near Beijing, as part of the preparations for US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s planned trip to Beijing.
Lu Xiang, a specialist on US-China relations at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Waters’ trip was part of the “working level communication” between the two countries, but could also pave the way for a rearranged visit by Blinken.
“I think [Waters] is on a mission to prepare for Blinken’s visit to Beijing, to touch base or to consult [with the Chinese side],” he said.
Blinken called off his planned visit – his first as Washington’s top diplomat – in the middle of the balloon crisis in early February, when the US shot down a suspected Chinese spying device.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang tells US to ‘hit the brakes’
Since then, confrontations between Beijing and Washington have grown increasingly bitter, over Taiwan, supply chain issues, China’s deepening partnership with Russia, and Beijing’s neutral position on the Ukraine war.
Beijing has blamed Washington for escalating tensions. In his first press conference as foreign minister, Qin Gang – previously China’s ambassador to the US – warned of catastrophic consequences if Washington failed to “hit the brakes” and let bilateral ties go downhill.
While both the US and China have called for efforts to mend their deteriorating ties, hopes for a quick rapprochement are slim, but there have been some signs of improvement.
Earlier in March, US President Joe Biden said he would soon speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping over the phone, but no timeline was given.
On Monday, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that a potential trip to China by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was in the works.
