Chinese analysts see ray of hope as Blinken stresses need for ‘open’ US-China talks on Beijing trip
- ‘Intense competition requires sustained diplomacy’, Antony Blinken says hours before heading to Beijing for two-day trip
- While aware that visit ‘is unlikely to produce anything remarkable in terms of lasting mitigation’, analysts hope it will prevent further acrimony
Blinken said one of the major goals of his trip was to establish “open and empowered communications” with Chinese officials.
“Intense competition requires sustained diplomacy to ensure that competition does not veer into confrontation or conflict,” Blinken said hours before departing for Beijing. “That is what the world expects both of the United States and China.”
The US and Chinese presidents had committed to improve communications “precisely so that we can make sure we are communicating as clearly as possible to avoid possible misunderstandings and miscommunication”, Blinken said. “The place you start is with communicating.”
Blinken is expected to meet senior Chinese officials during his visit over Sunday and Monday. It will be the first trip to China by a US secretary of state since 2018.
Shi Yinhong, a US expert at Beijing’s Renmin University, said past experience showed that communication between the two sides meant little, though he was still hoping for some limited, even if indecisive, breakthroughs.