Secretary of State Antony Blinken held what he described as “candid” talks with Chinese language President Xi Jinping this week on the finish of a two-day journey to China, the primary by a high official within the Biden administration. The aim of the go to was to dial again tensions between the 2 world powers over a bunch of points, together with Taiwan and commerce. Blinken mentioned he and Xi had made “progress,” though the 2 leaders did not attain an settlement on reopening military-to-military communications, a key U.S. objective.
Republicans criticized the Biden administration for even making an attempt to clean over variations with Beijing, saying it made the U.S. look weak given China’s repeated provocations. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), chair of the Home Republican Convention, criticized Blinken for making the journey, which had been scheduled for earlier within the yr however was postponed after a Chinese language surveillance balloon floated over a lot of america in February earlier than a U.S. fighter jet shot it down. Stefanik urged the Biden administration to “instantly stop their weak and determined pursuit of a ‘thaw.'”
Biden administration officers have mentioned it’s essential to decrease tensions with China to forestall miscommunication or accidents from escalating right into a army confrontation. Current “shut calls” involving planes and ships within the South China Sea and close to Taiwan have elevated the sense of urgency, in response to The Washington Put up. Is now the proper time to push for higher relations with Beijing?
What are commentators saying?
A high-level go to like Blinken’s is “a great place to start out,” mentioned The Washington Put up in an editorial. One go to, even by Washington’s high diplomat, “is not going to be sufficient to get relations again on observe.” The State Division is correct to “downplay” the prospect of a breakthrough anytime quickly. “Nevertheless it’s important to resume dialogue — particularly military-to-military talks,” as a result of when the world’s two largest powers are butting heads there is no room for error. The final time a U.S. secretary of state visited China earlier than Blinken’s journey was when Mike Pompeo went in 2018. “It is previous time for a resumption of dialogue.”
There’s nothing improper with high-level diplomatic visits, mentioned the Nationwide Evaluate in an editorial, however the price of getting Beijing to place Xi in a room with Blinken was too excessive. The U.S. has held off on releasing what the FBI discovered in regards to the surveillance gadgets China floated over key U.S. army bases with a balloon in February, deferring to China’s need to “sweep it beneath the rug.” Moreover, “selling human rights was a peripheral concern on this journey.” If the Biden administration continues “to drag its punches to maintain this course of on observe,” it would mission a picture of U.S. “weak point” in what would quantity to “national-security malpractice,” rewarding Beijing’s “technique of escalation to drive engagement,” which is able to make us much less protected “over the long term.”
“Xi’s choice to re-engage with the U.S. does not imply he’s abandoning his long-term objective of reasserting Chinese language primacy within the area and past,” however it’s nonetheless “vital,” mentioned Walter Russell Mead in The Wall Avenue Journal. Blinken did not retreat on U.S. efforts to impose “controls over tech exports” and strengthen “protection ties with nations in China’s entrance yard.” China cannot afford to proceed “confronting the U.S. at each flip to drive the Biden administration to vary course.” Its economic system is struggling and fixed “saber-rattling,” together with its assist for Russia’s warfare in Ukraine, has solely strengthened U.S. safety instances in Europe and Asia. Blinken’s mission was “shrewd,” as a result of it pressured Xi to shake his “outstretched hand” or be seen as the reason for “any additional deterioration within the regional surroundings.”
What’s subsequent?
“After months of sky-high tensions between Beijing and Washington — over alleged spy balloons, human rights points, and even TikTok — either side appear prepared to come back to the desk,” mentioned Tori Otten in The New Republic. However that is going to be “a fragile balancing act for the Biden administration.” President Biden is working for re-election subsequent yr, and considered one of former President Donald Trump’s “most-repeated assaults” has lengthy been “accusing Biden of being ‘smooth’ on China.” Republicans are already repeating the identical refrain, which is able to solely get louder because the 2024 presidential marketing campaign picks up. “Biden faces a tough political process within the coming months: Enhance relations with Beijing with out damaging his reelection probabilities.”