The two-day visit of the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, to China is part of a moment of maximum tension between the two powers. With recent military friction in the Taiwan Strait and the constant threat on both sides of a new Cold War being reissued.
First modification: Last modification:
Report by RFI correspondent in Beijing
Since Xi Jinping and Joe Biden met at the G20 summit in Bali in November last year, this is the first high-level rapprochement between the two countries. He is also the first Secretary of State from the Biden administration to visit China three years into his term, indicating that relations are at a difficult stage. The visit comes after being canceled in February due to the famous “Chinese spy balloon” crisis.
Blinken landed in Beijing on Sunday and met Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang the same day. After five and a half hours of work, they agreed on a minimum list in which both parties commit to maintaining communication and strengthening personal exchanges.
Beijing has been insisting on its red lines to Washington for months. The so-called internal question of Taiwan – a hot zone in which the United States carries out military exercises and trades in weapons – and the US sanctions against Chinese technology companies, such as Huawei, are two of the central issues that China has put on the table as conditions to guide relations between the two countries. For its part, the United States reiterates that it aspires to reestablish an open, free relationship based on international order.
At the media level, both powers accuse each other daily of straining relations. For this reason, in this context, the open channel of communication and Blinken’s visit are positive steps to relax. This topic is also discussed on social networks, although it does not occupy as many headlines as did Messi’s recent visit to Beijing and the match between the Argentine and Australian teams at the famous Workers’ Stadium in the Chinese capital.
Netizens are wondering why President Xi Jinping met with all honors with Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, last Friday and not with Blinken.
Both China and the United States need to do even more to prevent an escalation of tensions and start working together.
