Blinken urges US and China to manage differences
- Blinken emphasizes the importance of direct engagement and dialogue between the US and China.
- Chinese Communist Party Secretary Chen Jining emphasized the importance of US businesses to the city.
- Blinken’s visit is expected to address concerns about China’s relationship with Russia.
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for the United States and China to manage their differences “responsibly” as he embarked on a charm offensive ahead of anticipated tough talks. A day before his meeting with Beijing’s top brass to address thorny issues such as Russia, Taiwan, and trade, Blinken’s visit to Shanghai included sampling local food, watching a basketball game, and strolling along the city’s famous Bund promenade.
During his visit, while meeting the local Communist Party leader in a room offering a sweeping view of the Shanghai skyline, Blinken expressed that US President Joe Biden had committed to “direct and sustained” dialogue between the world’s two largest economies after years of increasing tension.
“I think it’s important to underscore the value —, the necessity — of direct engagement, of speaking to each other, laying out our differences, which are real, seeking to work through them,” Blinken said.
“We have an obligation for our people — indeed an obligation to the world — to manage the relationship between our two countries responsibly.”
Chen Jining, the Chinese Communist Party secretary for Shanghai, welcomed Blinken partly in English and emphasized the importance of US businesses to the city.
“Whether we choose cooperation or confrontation affects the well-being of both peoples, both countries, and the future of humanity,” Chen told him.
The country’s financial capital, Shanghai, often serves as a stepping stone to power in China, with President Xi Jinping previously serving briefly in the city. Although China has not announced plans for Blinken to meet Xi, they saw each other in a meeting announced at the last minute during Blinken’s last visit in June.
On Thursday, Blinken also met students at the Shanghai campus of New York University, where he voiced hope for more Americans to study in China.
He emphasized that the United States welcomed Chinese students with open arms, countering Beijing’s repeated allegations that Chinese nationals, including students with valid travel documents, faced aggressive interrogations and deportations at US airports.
“President Biden and President Xi are determined to strengthen our people-to-people ties,” Blinken stated.
Blinken, the first US secretary of state to visit Shanghai in 14 years, opened his visit Wednesday evening at a restaurant serving steamed buns. Sporting a suit without a tie, he ate with his senior staff in a shopping arcade as curious onlookers snapped pictures. Blinken then attended a basketball game between the Shanghai Sharks and Zhejiang Golden Bulls, staying until the end of the nail-biting play-off.
Such softer diplomacy, once a staple of US-China relations, would have been unimaginable until recently, with hawks in both countries speaking of an emerging new Cold War. Blinken’s aides hope that his smiling persona at public events draws an implicit contrast to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and his gruffer approach when he visited China earlier this month.
Although US officials initially felt relief that Beijing had refrained from sending weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine, they have come to believe that China’s concern over Moscow’s struggles on the battlefield has led it to ship vast quantities of industrial supplies to Russia.
US officials believe that China is more receptive to Western concerns as it seeks to focus on managing economic headwinds at home and wants to avoid friction with the West.
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