Secretary of State Antony Blinken holds crucial phone call with Chinese counterpart amid escalating tensions

Back to discussion box. As rivalries and tensions build between China and the United States, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on the phone on Wednesday June 14 with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang. On the menu: Taiwan, economic competition between the two powers, but more generally how to maintain a dialogue. If it did not lead to major announcements, this meeting has the merit of having created a channel of discussion between Washington and Beijing. Antony Blinken must also go to Beijing this weekend.

This dialogue comes after several passes of arms between the two countries, which had led to a deterioration of relations between China and the United States. There was the affair of the Chinese spy balloon which had flown over the United States in February, provoking the ire of the White House which had accused Beijing of interference. Faced with the outcry, Antony Blinken had to give up his long-planned trip to China at the last minute.

In March, the Americans also accused China of spying through the TikTok application. In addition, bilateral relations remain strained due to several other issues: US support for Taiwan, rivalry in technology, trade and Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea.

“Difficulties and Challenges”

“Since the beginning of the year, China-US relations have faced new difficulties and challenges. It’s clear whose responsibility it is.” Qin Gang deplored Wednesday to his interlocutor, criticized the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, pointing without naming the United States. Furthermore, the minister “explained China’s solemn position on the Taiwan issue,” the main point of friction between the two powers, Beijing being formally opposed to any official link between foreign countries and the Taiwanese authorities. According to the Chinese press release, “Qin Gang stressed that the United States should respect China’s concerns, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs, and stop undermining China’s sovereignty, security and interests in the name of competition. of China’s development.

“China hopes that the United States […] will work with China to effectively manage differences, promote exchanges and cooperation, so as to stabilize China-US relations and bring them back to the path of healthy and steady development,” Qin Gang also told Antony Blinken.

“calculation errors”

For its part, Washington wants to be less alarmist. Blinken mentioned “the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to responsibly manage relations between the United States and Beijing in order to avoid miscalculations and conflicts”, said the State Department. According to the US statement, the Secretary of State also “made it clear that the United States would continue to use its diplomatic engagements to raise concerns as well as potential areas of cooperation.”

Antony Blinken is due to land in Beijing on Sunday, the United States confirmed on Wednesday afternoon. This is the first visit by a US secretary of state to China since his predecessor, Mike Pompeo, traveled in October 2018.