Higher US-China ties however nonetheless deep disagreements as Blinken begins go to By Reuters

By Simon Lewis and Antoni Slodkowski

WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Shanghai on Wednesday with U.S.-China ties on a steadier footing, however with a frightening array of unresolved points threatening the steadiness of relations between the worldwide rivals.

Blinken will meet with enterprise leaders earlier than heading to Beijing for talks on Friday together with his counterpart, International Minister Wang Yi, and a possible assembly with President Xi Jinping.

Blinken’s go to is the newest high-level contact between the 2 nations that, together with working teams on points from international commerce to navy communication, have tempered the general public acrimony that drove relations to historic lows early final yr.

However Washington and Beijng have made little headway on curbing China’s provide of chemical substances used to make fentanyl, Taiwan stays a flashpoint, and strains are intensifying over China’s backing of Russia in its warfare in Ukraine.

Whereas important progress is unlikely throughout the go to, each nations need “open lines of communication to avoid awkward scenarios,” stated Alfred Wu, affiliate professor on the Lee Kuan Yew Faculty of Public Coverage in Singapore.

Blinken will press China to cease its corporations from retooling and resupplying Russia’s protection industrial base. Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022, simply days after agreeing a “no limits” partnership with Beijing, and whereas China has steered away from offering arms, U.S. officers warn Chinese language corporations are sending dual-use know-how that helps Russia’s warfare effort.

With out offering particulars, a senior State Division official briefing reporters on Friday stated Washington was ready to “take steps” towards Chinese language corporations it believes are damaging U.S. and European safety.

The US has preliminarily mentioned placing sanctions on Chinese language banks over the nation’s assist for Russia, however officers informed Reuters they don’t but have a plan to take action.

Washington has to this point stopped in need of sanctioning main Chinese language banks – lengthy deemed by analysts as a “nuclear” possibility – due to the consequences it might have throughout the worldwide financial system and on U.S.-China relations.

A Chinese language international ministry official quoted by state information company Xinhua on Tuesday stated relations “have shown a trend of stopping decline and stabilizing,” since Biden and Xi met in San Francisco in November.

However the official criticized what they referred to as Washington’s “stubborn strategy of containing China, and its erroneous words and deeds of interfering in China’s internal affairs, tarnishing China’s image and undermining China’s interests.”

CALL FOR ‘RESTRAINT’ OVER TAIWAN

The go to additionally comes after the U.S. Congress moved forward this weekend with a invoice that features new funding for Taiwan and fewer than a month earlier than the self-governing island inaugurates a brand new president, Lai Ching-te, who like his predecessor rejects China’s declare to the island.

The senior State Division official stated events ought to “avoid taking provocative actions that may raise tensions, and demonstrate restraint” forward of the inauguration. “That will be our message going forward,” the official added.

An effort to drive China’s ByteDance to promote the social media app TikTok or face a ban within the U.S. can be gaining steam in Congress, an indication of the rising urge for food in Washington to confront Beijing on financial points.

Blinken can be anticipated to lift human rights, together with China’s therapy of Muslims in its western Xinjiang area.

Different U.S. officers have met or referred to as their Chinese language counterparts lately as a part of the broader U.S. effort to maintain traces of communication open.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was in Beijing and the southern manufacturing facility hub of Guangzhou earlier this month, and final week Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke together with his Chinese language counterpart for the primary time in 18 months.

Biden’s nationwide safety adviser Jake Sullivan has additionally held common talks with Wang, aiming because the administration says, to responsibly handle competitors between the 2 powers.

Regardless of the tensions there have been makes an attempt to seek out frequent floor on points such because the Center East battle.

After an alleged Israeli strike on an Iranian consular facility in Damascus earlier this month, Blinken spoke with Wang, in addition to with representatives of different nations with ties to Iran, “to make clear that escalation is not in anyone’s interest, and that countries should urge Iran not to escalate,” a State Division spokesperson stated on April 11.

Wang Huiyao, founder and president of the Beijing-based suppose tank Middle for China and Globalization, informed Reuters that contact confirmed the potential of the 2 nations working collectively.

“They sell all their oil to China,” Wang stated of Iran, “so when China says, ‘OK, you just stop,’ then they have to think about it.”