Blinken calls on Washington and Beijing to manage their differences “responsibly”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday called on the United States and China to manage their differences “responsibly”, during his second visit to the country in less than a year.

“We have an obligation to our people, and even to the world, to manage relations between our two countries responsibly,” Antony Blinken said in Shanghai.

A first visit to Shanghai

Arriving in China on Wednesday, the head of American diplomacy began his trip to Shanghai, where he attended a basketball match between two teams with American players in their ranks. He also strolled along the famous Bund promenade along the banks of the Huangpu River.

 

During this first stage, the American Secretary of State met with the local leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), telling him that American President Joe Biden was committed to establishing a “direct and sustained” dialogue between the two countries.

“I think it is important to emphasize the value, even the necessity, of direct engagement, of talking to each other, of exposing our differences, which are real, and of seeking to overcome them,” said the American .

 

The secretary of the CPC Shanghai Committee, Chen Jining, for his part insisted on the importance of American companies in the local economy. “Whether we choose cooperation or confrontation, it affects the well-being of the two peoples, the two countries and the future of humanity,” he stressed.

Antony Blinken then met with students at New York University in Shanghai, where he said he hoped more Americans would study in China, adding that American universities stood ready to welcome Chinese students.

Beijing has, however, repeatedly denounced the harsh interrogations to which some of its nationals, including students, may have been subjected upon their arrival on American soil, despite having valid documents. “President Biden and President Xi are determined to strengthen our people-to-people ties,” the US Secretary of State said.

The Taiwanese question on the table

He must continue his trip to Beijing on Friday, where he must meet with Chinese leaders and should plead for restraint, while a new president will be inaugurated on May 20 in Taiwan.

The archipelago is all the more likely to appear among the delicate issues likely to be raised as the American Congress gave the green light on Tuesday to a military assistance package of 95 billion dollars intended for Washington’s allies such as Taipei.

Significantly improving relationships

The head of American diplomacy is also in China to ease tensions between the world’s two largest economies, which have eased significantly since his June visit.

 

This was followed by a meeting between Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in San Francisco in November which led to a resumption of contacts between the two armies and cooperation in the fight against the manufacture of fentanyl, a drug of synthesis wreaking havoc in the United States. Sino-American relations are at a “different stage than where we were a year ago, when bilateral relations were at a historic low,” a senior American official stressed before Antony Blinken’s visit.

Tensions that persist

In Beijing, Antony Blinken should also raise American concerns about China’s trade practices, which Washington considers anti-competitive, an essential issue for President Joe Biden in this election year.

If the Chinese do not directly supply weapons to Russia, Washington has accused them in recent weeks of delivering dual-use equipment and technologies to this country which facilitate its rearmament effort, the most important since Soviet times.

“If China wants to have friendly relations with Europe and other countries on the one hand, it cannot fuel what is the greatest threat to European security since the end of the War on the other hand. cold,” declared the American Secretary of State on Friday after a G7 meeting in Italy.

Another source of friction is the law passed by the US Congress on Tuesday requiring that the TikTok application be sold by its Chinese parent company ByteDance, under penalty of being excluded from the US market.

In March, China called on Washington to “respect the rules of the market economy” and indicated that it would take “all necessary measures to preserve its legitimate rights and interests”.

By Editor

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