Antony Blinken’s China trip seen as positive but could put some US allies in ‘precarious position’
- Beijing and Washington agreed to hold more high-level talks during US secretary of state’s two-day visit
- But relations are ‘still very fragile’ and nations in the region ‘will continue to face pressure to take sides’, analyst says
The US secretary of state’s trip to Beijing this week may have gone some way towards reassuring China’s neighbours over their rivalry, but observers say long-term concerns remain.
Yan Xuetong, dean of the Institute of International Relations at Tsinghua University, said the talks would be welcomed by the region.
“The greatest worry for neighbouring countries is a war between China and the US,” he said. “As long as there’s no outbreak of war between them, and their contradictions and even competition are handled in a peaceful way, these countries will feel that they can cope.”
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‘China will not challenge or replace the US’, Xi tells Blinken at crucial meeting
China and the US both wanted to appear willing to listen to the concerns of other countries rather than continue being confrontational, according to Chen Xiangmiao, an assistant research fellow at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies in Hainan.