It is not an easy visit for US Secretary of State Blinken to China. A meeting with head of state and party leader Xi is also expected. What is certain is that Blinken will warn the Chinese leadership against continuing to support Russia militarily.
The last few years have seen ups and downs in relations between the USA and China. After US leader Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in the summer of 2022 and the shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon over North America at the beginning of last year, there were no official contacts between the two superpowers for months.
At least people are now talking to each other again, says Bonnie Glaser from the US think tank German Marshall Fund. “The U.S. goal is to build more stable and predictable relationships in which there are open channels of communication, where leaders meet and representatives from different levels come together,” Glaser said. “They present their concerns and explain their policies. And where their interests coincide, we see whether we can work together. The two countries are on the way to stabilizing their relations. It remains to be seen whether this will be successful.”
US criticism of China’s support of Moscow
There are still many points of contention between China and the USA. Above all: dealing with the war of aggression in Ukraine and China’s friendship with the aggressor Russia.
China is the main supplier to the Russian defense industry, said Antony Blinken in Italy last week. Machine tools, microchips and other dual-use goods – i.e. technology that can be used for both civil and military purposes.
The US Secretary of State will give the issue top priority in his talks in Beijing, said Bonnie Glaser from the US German Marshall Fund. “The war in Ukraine has been going on for more than two years now, and the Russian defense sector has apparently been reorganized essentially with China’s help,” said Glaser. “The People’s Republic has apparently also supplied dual-use and weapons components. And that is something that the United States and Europe are very concerned about.”
China benefits from Russia’s war
Wang Wenbin, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, recently denied the allegations and turned the tables. The fact that the USA, on the one hand, supported Ukraine militarily and at the same time discredited China’s “normal” economic relations with Russia was irresponsible and hypocritical. China is neither adding fuel to the fire nor is the country benefiting from the war – and certainly will not tolerate such accusations.
The fact that China is not benefiting from the war is demonstrably false. Trade between the two autocratically ruled neighbors has been flourishing since the beginning of the war. The country now delivers almost everything to Russia that democratic nations have stopped, allowing the Russian population to live a largely “normal” life – while war is being waged in Ukraine. In return, the People’s Republic buys large amounts of energy – revenue for the Russian war chest.
Taiwan also remains a contentious issue
Another point of contention between China and the USA is American support for Taiwan. The US Congress approved $8 billion in military aid for the democratically ruled island on Tuesday. The Communist Party sees this as interference because Taiwan is seen as its own territory.
The leadership in Beijing also complains about US sanctions. Among other things, the government in Washington is trying to prevent China from obtaining high-performance microchips that are needed, for example, for the production of modern weapons. China accuses the USA of wanting to hinder the country’s rise.
Concern about Trump being re-elected
And then the election campaign in the USA hovers over everything. China analyst Bonnie Glaser believes that most Chinese people don’t want Donald Trump back – and the unpredictability that would come with a Trump presidency.
“China is struggling with economic problems and has difficulties at home, for example corruption in the military,” said Glaser. “Also, there may be other signs of instability. So the best thing for the country at this point is for President Joe Biden to be re-elected. I don’t think everyone in China agrees on this point, but I believe that is the majority opinion. However, no matter what the outcome of the US election, China will of course have to deal with the President of the United States, whoever he is.”