Dal Quotidiano “South China Morning Post: XI AND BLINKEN VOW TO STABILISE TIES

Rivalry cannot solve problems in the US or challenges facing the world, and both sides should respect each other, president tells America’s top diplomat

Dewey Sim and Orange Wang

Whether China and the US can get along correctly has a bearing on the future PRESIDENT XI JINPING My hope and expectation is we’ll have better communications, better engagement ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s landmark trip to China ended yesterday with a commitment from both countries to try to stabilise ties to prevent their intensifying rivalry from descending into conflict.
The closely watched two-day visit wrapped up with a meeting between Blinken and President Xi Jinping, who told the visiting diplomat that the world needed a stable US-China relationship and that the two countries should handle ties with a sense of responsibility.
“Whether China and the US can get along correctly has a bearing on the future and the destiny of humankind,” he said, adding that the success of each country should be seen as an opportunity rather than a threat.
Xi told Blinken that rivalry between the great powers would not solve problems in the United States or challenges facing the world, and the two powers should seek to respect each other’s interests.
“China respects the interests of the United States and will not challenge or replace the United States. Similarly, the United States must also respect China and not harm China’s legitimate rights and interests.
“Neither party can shape the other according to its own wishes, let alone deprive the other of its legitimate right to development.”
Xi said countries around the world had aired concerns over worsening US-China ties and they did not want to witness conflict or confrontation between the two major powers.
Fears have mounted that tensions between the world’s two biggest economies could come to military blows, with Taiwan seen as a major potential flashpoint. Calls for re-engagement and communication have grown as the island counts down to a presidential election next year.
“My hope and expectation is we’ll have better communications, better engagement going forward,” Blinken said after meeting Xi. “And I think we took a positive step in that direction over the last few days.”
He said Washington and Beijing recognised the need to stabilise the relationship though it was still far from solving every problem between the two countries.
Blinken said the trip met all of its objectives but it was still not enough.
“Progress is hard, it takes time and it’s not the product of one visit, one trip, one conversation,” he said. “The meetings that we had I thought were very candid, very in-depth and in places constructive, and other places we have a lot more work to do.”
Blinken said that he would expect visits by other senior US officials to China “over the coming weeks”.
Both US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo have said they hope to travel to China this year.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the two sides agreed to continue discussions on developing principles to guide the bilateral relationship and encouraged further progress, including through the joint working groups.
Both sides also underscored that they should work together to address shared transnational challenges, such as climate change, global macroeconomic stability, food security, public health, and counter-narcotics.
Xi also said there had been progress, describing Blinken’s trip as “very good” and saying agreements were reached on “some specific issues” in the secretary of state’s earlier meetings with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, and Foreign Minister Qin Gang.
In what appeared to be a conciliatory tone, Xi said China hoped for the return of “healthy and stable” relations with the US, and he believed the two countries could “overcome all difficulties and find the right way to get along”.
Xi also urged Washington to adopt a “rational and pragmatic attitude” when dealing with Beijing and to put their positive statements into action and work towards improving US-China ties.
According to the State Department, Blinken said he travelled to Beijing because President Joe Biden believed that both the US and China had an “obligation and responsibility” to manage bilateral relations.
“The United States is committed to doing that. It’s in the interest of the United States, in the interests of China, and in the interest of the world,” he said.
According to the Chinese statement about the meeting, Blinken said Washington did not seek a new cold war and neither did it want to change China’s system or oppose Beijing by strengthening its alliances.
The meeting in Beijing was their first encounter in more than seven months – Blinken was present when Xi met Biden on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali in November.
Earlier in the day, Wang Yi urged the United States to “reflect deeply” and manage differences with Beijing, while attributing worsening ties to Washington’s “erroneous perception” of China.
According to CCTV, Wang told Blinken that his trip to Beijing came at a “critical juncture” in US-China ties and it was “necessary to make a choice between dialogue and confrontation, cooperation and conflict”.
“Sino-US relations have experienced ups and downs, and it is necessary for the US to reflect deeply and work with China to jointly manage differences and avoid strategic surprises,” he said.
“With an attitude of being responsible to the people, history and the world, we must reverse the downward spiral of Sino-US relations, push for a return to a healthy and stable track and work together to find a correct way for China and the United States to get along in the new era.”
Wang also urged the US not to assume China was seeking dominance, and not to “misjudge” Beijing based on the trajectories of traditional Western powers.
“This is key as to whether the US policy towards China can truly return to objectivity and rationality,” he said.
Wang, who is Xi’s top foreign policy adviser, also called for the US to lift unilateral sanctions against China, stop the suppression of China’s technological development, and not interfere in Beijing’s internal affairs.
On Taiwan, Wang stressed that safeguarding its national unity would always be at the core of China’s core interests, and that there was “no room for compromise”.
According to the Chinese statement on the meeting, Blinken shared Washington’s views with Wang, adding that the US looked forward to strengthening communication with China and managing differences responsibly.
Blinken’s meeting with Wang came a day after he held talks with Qin, with both sides calling the meeting – which lasted nearly six hours – “candid” and “constructive”.
According to Miller, from the State Department, Blinken emphasised the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to reduce the risk of misperception and miscalculation.
Blinken raised a number of issues “of concern” and stressed that the US would “always stand up for the interests and values of the American people”.
Washington’s top envoy invited Qin to Washington to continue discussions, to which they agreed to schedule a visit at a “mutually suitable time”.
Qin told Blinken ties between the two world powers were at their lowest but Beijing was committed to building a “stable, predictable and constructive” US-China relationship, CCTV reported.
While calling for the two countries to maintain high-level exchanges, Qin warned that Taiwan was “the core of China’s core interests”, and it presented the “most prominent risk” for ties between the two countries.
Beijing views self-ruled Taiwan as a renegade province to be brought under mainland control, by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state.