Antony Blinken to visit China next week and discuss ‘bilateral, regional and global issues’: official
- Meetings with Foreign Minister Wang Yi expected to cover unfair trade practices and industrial overcapacity in ‘productive and constructive’ trip
- Visit comes as Biden administration treads delicate line staying engaged with China even as it adopts tougher rhetoric before November election
“We are confident that our Chinese hosts will arrange a productive and constructive visit,” said a senior State Department official in a background call with reporters on Friday.
The American delegation will include State Department officials Elizabeth Allen, undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs; Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs; Todd Robinson, assistant secretary for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs; and Nathaniel Fick, ambassador-at-large for cyberspace and digital policy.
Will tough tariff talk taint Antony Blinken’s trip to China?
“They’re trying to keep the momentum going from the Yellen visit and keep up some level of positive optics,” said Paul Triolo, a former American government official now with the Albright Stonebridge Group. “But as you enter the political season in the US, you’re going to have some tough messages on assisting Russia and on overcapacity,”
“The biggest thing is going to be trying to avoid appearing too positive and giving fodder to the Republicans.”
Biden further used the visit to the electoral swing state to announce investigations under Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974 targeting alleged subsidies involving Chinese shipbuilding, logistics and the maritime industry.
He also pointedly criticised China’s weak economy, ageing population, “xenophobia” and purported willingness to bend the rules. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating,” he told a crowd of cheering steelworkers.
Blinken, beyond raising overcapacity and Russia, would widen the lens in his role as coordinator for the US inter-agency process, analysts said.
Xi might also agree to meet Blinken, analysts added. They added that Washington liked the publicity it received in China of Yellen spending time in Guangzhou away from the capital and was trying to replicate that with a portion of Blinken’s trip being spent in Shanghai.
How far did Janet Yellen’s trip move the ball for US-China relations?
Beijing has lived through numerous US presidential election cycles and has seen generations of candidates bash China leading up to the polls, then tack back once elected – although the tack has been less forceful of late.
“China knows the rhetoric increases around the election,” said Moon. “It doesn’t mean they will let it all pass. But they know the volume will go up.”