Meeting between the US and China could be the prelude to better relations

A five-hour meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi paved the way for gradually improving relations, although no immediate changes are expected, say analysts consulted by the voice of america.

Wang and Blinken met on Saturday at the G-20 forum in BaliIndonesia, their first personal meeting since May, when Blinken unveiled President Joe Biden’s strategy to compete with China.

Both exchanged points of view on a series of “concerning” issues for both superpowers in the last five years.

Blinken and Wang pressed each other on the issues of disagreement. Blinken lamented that China aligned with Russia during the war in Ukraine and Wang said the US should not make a “big mistake” with Taiwan.

Those issues, along with trade, China’s military activity in the disputed South China Sea and Washington’s perception of human rights problems in China, have soured relations since the presidency of Donald Trump.

“I think Blinken is making a very clear point that he is not satisfied with China’s actions in the South China Sea, as well as in East Asia and Taiwan,” he told the press on Monday. VOA Sean Su, an independent political analyst in Taiwan.

According to Su, “all this indicates a continued US interest in the area of ​​East Asia, and that it is not going to give up much space for the Sinosphere to expand its power.”

The two top officials did not agree on anything on Saturday, but the fact that they met could portend an eventual thawing of relations, some experts believe.

The two governments now are planning a virtual meeting among its leaders as early as the end of July.

“I don’t see signs that the parties are making serious commitments or concessions, but dialogue is important,” he said. Timothy Heath, an international defense researcher at the Rand Corp. “It’s helpful to hear the message from each side.”

Both sides are confident of reducing tensions, Heath said, because they recognize the other’s role in improving their respective economies and those of the world. “Neither side is ready for a confrontation,” he added.

A senior State Department official has assured that the simultaneous translation during Saturday’s meeting allowed for more extensive discussions, including exchanges on the issues of disagreement.

The next move could come from a third party, says Satu Limaye, vice president of the East-West Center in Hawaii.

“I am watching to see if the legislation to compete with China moves forward and how allies and partners evaluate these high-level discussions,” he explained to the press. VOA Limaye.

Taken on its own, he concludes, “the Blinken-Yi meeting did not make any difference to the troubled relationship between the United States and China.”

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