The rapprochement between the United States and China to “improve” diplomatic relations in a highly competitive environment between the world’s two leading economies comes as they move pieces on the global chessboard, which for experts raises questions about how a complex relationship will proceed. and with several open fronts.
Analysts invited to Forum of the voice of america They agreed that mistrust prevails between the two nations, not only at government levels but also among civil society.
There is “a need to improve relations” but “there remains a perception of very little trust between the two that is very evident,” Margaret Myers, director of the Inter-American Dialogue’s Asia and Latin America program, told VOA.
The experts reviewed the scope of the recent visit of the Secretary of StateAntony Blinken, to China where he was received by President Xi Jinping to “bring closer positions” between the two powers that have shown open differences on key issues such as the sovereignty of Taiwan or the war in Ukraine.
Blinken assured – after his recent visit to China – that in the talks with the Chinese president “both” agreed “to stabilize the relationship. “It is not about separating us, but about reducing risk and diversifying,” he commented.
For Guillermo Pacheco, an international defense and security analyst, the downing of a chinese balloonafter crossing the United States territory, generated a double effect, -according to what he told VOA– because it caused the delay of Secretary Blinken’s visit to the Chinese capital, which was initially scheduled for the days in which the incident occurred, at the same time that it caused a “late action by the United States” to ground the device that, according to the Department of Defense, contained espionage instruments, after recovering the remains after being shot down on the east coast of the country.
India’s role
“In itself it is a relationship that is not close, I think that the late trip of the Secretary of State is a parallel to the arrival of the Prime Minister of India” in Washington DC last week in State visit to the White Housewhere he was received with honors.
Inés Arco, a researcher at the Barcelona Center for International Studies, said that the entry of India as a new key player for the United States in the Asian region opens up other possibilities because both Washington and New Delhi have many interests in common, especially in political matters that align themselves with the Chinese “threat”.
“India is a democracy, it is the fifth most important economic power, it is the first country in the world in terms of population and it also has friction with a territorial dispute that was activated with China in 2020 in the Himalayan area, India became It can be established as an ally, although not in the most formal way, for those interests that the US has against China, but also for the defense of an international order based on rules where China is seen to be the main threat,” Arco opined.
However, after the eventual high-level rapprochement between the two powers, a new episode arose that would reverse the advances, following a comment by President Joe Biden at a campaign event when he described Xi Jinping as a “dictator” which provoked an angry reaction from Beijing.
In response, the spokeswoman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mao Ning, said that the US president’s statements were “absurd” and described them as a “provocation” that warranted a forceful response from the Asian giant.
“The relevant comments from the US side are extremely absurd and irresponsible and seriously violate basic facts and diplomatic protocol and China’s political dignity, are open political provocation, China is totally dissatisfied and strongly opposed,” Mao said.
President Biden later said that his comments would not affect the relationship with China and that the administration will continue to work to the point that it hopes to meet with President Xi Jinping in the near future.
Analysts also consider that both powers are approaching without a clear plan of where they will move their pieces to “correct” the differences, coupled with the expectations raised by the movements in their areas of influence such as Latin America where some countries are approaching China to open their markets.
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