On Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with multiple high-level officials in China — including President Xi Jinping. The Beijing meeting comes during a time of collapsing relations between the U.S. and China.
Earlier this year, a Chinese spy balloon floated across the entire continental United States before eventually being shot down by the American government above the Atlantic Ocean. At the beginning of June, it was reported by the Wall Street Journal that China is planning on using a spy base stationed in Cuba to intercept American communications. The intelligence facility would be used to monitor emails, phone calls, and even satellite transmissions.
Additionally, China’s increasing aggression in the South China Sea has raised alarms in Washington. In April, China conducted large military exercises around Taiwan, encircling the island during the three-day stint. Chinese military aircraft continue to violate Taiwan’s air defense zone, and Taiwan has warned that China may attempt to conquer the island by 2025.
The meeting between Blinken and Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi sees a break in Chinese refusal to hold high-level communications. Since 2021, China has not responded to or has ignored requests for dialogue with top officials at the Department of Defense over a dozen times. Blinken praised the sit-down with China as a step in the right direction.
Blinken said after the meetings on Monday: “It is absolutely vital that we have these kinds of communications. This is something we’re going to keep working on.”
Blinken also emphasized the importance of preventing disruption of trade between the two nations, saying that if China were to take aggressive action in Taiwan it would harm all countries, including China.
Blinken said in a press conference:
Fifty percent of commercial container traffic goes through the Taiwan Strait every day. Seventy percent of semiconductors are manufactured in Taiwan. If as a result of a crisis that was taken offline, it would have dramatic consequences for virtually every country around the world.
Wang told Blinken in a three-hour meeting that he wishes to “reverse the downward spiral” of Chinese–U.S. relations. Xi also appeared satisfied with the dialogue.
According to the State Department, Xi said: “The two sides have also made progress and reached agreement on some specific issues. This is very good.”
The two parties agreed to conduct more talks, along with increasing flights between the two nations, and to jointly battle the international flow of fentanyl into the U.S.
Despite the gesture of goodwill, no major breakthroughs appear likely to happen in the near future. Taiwan, the South China Sea, Hong Kong, and Russia’s war in Ukraine are all issues on which neither side has budged. Blinken also admitted that China was still unwilling to open up a crisis military-to-military communication channel during the visit.
Such a military channel would allow for immediate communication between high-ranking officials in the two nations’ militaries. This would decrease the possibility of escalating kinetic events between the two global powers. The absence of emergency channels threatens American peacekeeping efforts and underlines the CCP’s unwillingness to make even the smallest of concessions.
Brayden Dean is a rising senior at the University of Georgia. He is studying international affairs and political science with a minor in law, jurisprudence, and state. A member of The American Spectator’s 2023 intern class, Brayden enjoys drinking a hot cup of coffee while reading a book.