THE US and China laid out differing expectations for a key first meeting next week, showing the domestic pressure on both sides to avoid looking weak while reopening relations.
The encounter between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and their Chinese counterparts in Alaska would represent the highest-level meeting between the two sides since President Joe Biden took office. But the two sides quickly disagreed over whether the exchange was a âstrategic dialogue,â a reference to regular talks that fell apart under former President Donald Trump.
âThis is not a strategic dialogueâthereâs no intent at this point for a series of follow-on engagements,â Blinken told members of Congress on Wednesday.
Who invited who?
CHINESE Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian later released a response to Blinkenâs remarks, describing the meetings on March 18-19 as a âhigh-level strategic dialogueâ being held âat the invitation of the US.â
The posturing illustrates the high stakes for a meeting that could set the tone for the worldâs most important diplomatic relationship. While Biden faces bipartisan demands for maintaining much of Trumpâs hard-line approach to Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping must also contend with deep nationalist support for pushing back against US pressure over issues from trade to Taiwan.
Still, the meeting demonstrates a willingness to reengage after ties last year sank to their lowest level in decades, with both nations ramping up sanctions and tariffs, expelling journalists and closing consulates. The US and China have both expressed interest in collaborating on global issues such as climate change and indicated an openness to make early goodwill gestures.
âItâs already a good gesture by the Biden administration given the US domestic politics,â said Zhu Feng, a professor of international relations at Nanjing University. âBoth sides have insisted the other should right the wrongs. Itâll be a positive result if the two countries could go further than repeating such rhetoric, and start to build back dialogue mechanisms on issues of concerns, such as technology decoupling, Taiwan and trade.â
Boosting trust, dispel misgivings
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told his annual news briefing Thursday in Beijing that he hoped to see âvarious levelsâ of dialogue with the Biden administration. âEven if we cannot work everything out any time soon, such exchange of views will help boost trust and dispel misgivings,â Li said.
The face-to-face meeting will come on the heels of days of high-profile meetings between US officials and key Asia-Pacific partners, including the first-ever state leaders meeting from the Quad grouping of democracies. The scheduleâas well as the venue on American soilâallows the US side to project strength.
Blinken told the US House Foreign Affairs Committee that future engagements with China would happen only if the administration saw tangible progress on the issues of concern. âBut this is an opportunity for us to put it on the table,â he said.
The Chinese delegation will arrive in Alaska days after lawmakers in Beijing defied US sanctions to approve sweeping legislation to limit the oppositionâs participation in Hong Kong elections. The measure was passed as part of an annual legislative session that ratified a series of plans aimed at expanding Chinaâs economy, modernizing its military and reducing the countryâs dependence on American technology.
The Chinese delegation will be led by top diplomat Yang Jiechiâa member of the ruling Politburoâand Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Both men have suggested in recent remarks that the onus was on the US to repair ties after four years of Trump, and theyâve urged Washington to reopen regular dialogue platforms.
âWe demand the US adopt an objective and rational attitude toward bilateral ties, abandon its Cold War mentality and zero-sum mindset, respect Chinaâs sovereignty, security and development interests, and stop interfering in Chinaâs internal affairs,â Zhao, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, said Thursday.
Image credits: ANGELA WEISS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES