Friday, February 28, 2025, 8:35PM |  50°
MENU
SECTIONS
OTHER
CLASSIFIEDS
CONTACT US / FAQ
Advertisement
Secretary of State Antony Blinken waves Friday before boarding a plane for his travel to China, at Joint Base Andrews, Md.
3
MORE

Blinken arrives in Beijing on high-stakes mission to cool soaring U.S.-China tensions

Associated Press

Blinken arrives in Beijing on high-stakes mission to cool soaring U.S.-China tensions

BEIJING — BEIJING —Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Beijing early Sunday on a high-stakes diplomatic mission to try to cool exploding U.S.-China tensions that have set many around the world on edge.

Mr. Blinken was to begin two days of talks with senior Chinese officials in the afternoon. He is the highest-level American official to visit China since President Joe Biden took office and the first secretary of state to make the trip in five years.

The trip comes after he postponed plans to visit in February after the shootdown of a Chinese surveillance balloon over the U.S.

Advertisement

Yet prospects for any significant breakthrough on the most vexing issues facing the planet’s two largest economies are slim, as already ties have grown increasingly fraught in recent years. Animosity and recriminations have steadily escalated over a series of disagreements that have implications for global security and stability.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to members of the media Tuesday prior to a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, not pictured, at the State Department in Washington. China's foreign minister Qin Gang told Mr. Blinken on Wednesday that relations between the two countries were facing "new difficulties and challenges."
Edward Wong
Blinken plans to meet with top Chinese officials in Beijing

Mr. Blinken plans to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Sunday, top diplomat Wang Yi, and possibly President Xi Jinping on Monday, according to U.S. officials.

Mr. Biden and Mr. Xi agreed to Mr. Blinken’s trip early at a meeting last year in Bali. It came within a day of happening in February but was delayed by the diplomatic and political tumult brought on by the discovery of what the U.S. says was a Chinese spy balloon flying across the United States that was shot down.

The list of disagreements and potential conflict points is long: ranging from trade with Taiwan, human rights conditions in China to Hong Kong, as well as the Chinese military assertiveness in the South China Sea to Russia's war in Ukraine.

Advertisement

U.S. officials said before Mr. Blinken’s departure from Washington on Friday that he would raise each of them, though neither side has shown any inclination to back down on their positions.

Shortly before leaving, Mr. Blinken emphasized the importance of the U.S. and China establishing and maintaining better lines of communication. The U.S. wants to make sure “that the competition we have with China doesn’t veer into conflict” due to avoidable misunderstandings, he told reporters.

Mr. Biden and Mr. Xi had made commitments to improve communications “precisely so that we can make sure we are communicating as clearly as possible to avoid possible misunderstandings and miscommunications,” Mr. Blinken said Friday.

Mr. Xi offered a hint of a possible willingness to reduce tensions, saying in a meeting with Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates on Friday that the United States and China can cooperate to “benefit our two countries."

“I believe that the foundation of Sino-U.S. relations lies in the people,” Mr. Xi said to Mr. Gates. “Under the current world situation, we can carry out various activities that benefit our two countries, the people of our countries, and the entire human race.”

Mr. Biden told White House reporters Saturday he was “hoping that over the next several months, I'll be meeting with Xi again and talking about legitimate differences we have, but also how ... to get along.” Chances could come at a Group of 20 leaders’ gathering in September in New Delhi and at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November in San Francisco that the United States is hosting.

Since the cancellation of Mr. Blinken’s trip in February, there have been some high-level engagements. CIA chief William Burns traveled to China in May, while China’s commerce minister traveled to the U.S. And Mr. Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with Mr. Yi in Vienna in May.

But those have been punctuated by bursts of angry rhetoric from both sides over the Taiwan Strait, their broader intentions in the Indo-Pacific, China’s refusal to condemn Russia for its war against Ukraine, and U.S. allegations from Washington that Beijing is attempting to boost its worldwide surveillance capabilities, including in Cuba.

And, earlier this month, China’s defense minister rebuffed a request from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for a meeting on the sidelines of a security symposium in Singapore, a sign of continuing discontent.

Mr. Austin said Friday he was confident that he and his Chinese counterpart would meet “at some point in time, but we’re not there yet.”

First Published: June 17, 2023, 2:43 p.m.
Updated: June 17, 2023, 11:54 p.m.

RELATED
SHOW COMMENTS (1)  
Join the Conversation
Commenting policy | How to Report Abuse
If you would like your comment to be considered for a published letter to the editor, please send it to letters@post-gazette.com. Letters must be under 250 words and may be edited for length and clarity.
Partners
Advertisement
President Donald Trump, right, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office at the White House, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in Washington
1
news
Zelenskyy leaves White House without signing minerals deal after Oval Office blowup with Trump
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, center, and teammates run the 'Tush Push' play during an playoff game against the Washington Commanders, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, in Philadelphia.
2
sports
Ray Fittipaldo: The Packers are right. The NFL should ban the 'Tush Push'
The Downtown skyline with the Fort Pitt Bridge on Thursday, May 30, 2024.
3
opinion
Brandon McGinley: Is Pittsburgh doomed?
Ohio State quarterback Will Howard passes against Notre Dame during first half of the College Football Playoff national championship game Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Atlanta.
4
sports
Steelers NFL draft big board: Best fits at quarterback
Co-owners Mary Mancini Hartner and her son, Nick, stand  in front of the original mixer at Mancini’s Bakery in Stowe.
5
life
Iconic Eats: Stowe-based Mancini’s Bakery has been feeding the area since 1926
Secretary of State Antony Blinken waves Friday before boarding a plane for his travel to China, at Joint Base Andrews, Md.  (Associated Press)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference with Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan at the State Department, Friday, June 16, 2023, in Washington.  (Associated Press)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken waves before boarding a plane for his travel to China, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, June 16, 2023.  (Associated Press)
Associated Press
Advertisement
LATEST news
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story