The US seeks to stabilise relations with China as secretary of state Antony Blinken arrived in Beijing on 18 June. Chinese president Xi Jinping meets Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates. Beijing reminds its public about the young soldiers who died in the Galwan clash. Directorate of Enforcement issues show cause notice to Chinese electronics manufacturing company Xiaomi. Chinascope examines the chatter leading up to Blinken’s visit to China.
China over the week
After landing at Beijing Capital International Airport, Blinken was received by Yang Tao, a low-level Chinese foreign ministry official, with no red carpet to welcome him. The US is delaying its planned actions against Beijing to seek dialogue and set the guardrails. But will it succeed?
The US is sending all the signals to stabilise relations with China but Beijing seems to be agreeing to the dialogue for the sake of having it rather than deescalating the diplomatic tensions.
The two sides aren’t expecting any breakthrough during Blinken’s two-day visit, which happened after delays. The visit was earlier scuttled by the spy balloon incident, which led to its cancellation.
Blinken will try to set the guardrail for bilateral relations and ensure the international security environment—which is already standing on the precipice—doesn’t plunge into a freefall.
On 18 June, Blinken first met Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. It wasn’t clear if he would meet Xi the next day as some mystery surrounded the kind of reception Blinken would get. On Friday, Xi took time to meet Gates and told him he was the first American friend he had met this year.
“The foundation of China-US relations lies in the people. We have always placed our hope on the American people and wish all the best for the friendship between the two peoples,” said Xi to Gates.
Gates’ visit to Beijing may have been planned to signal easing of tensions and a resumption of US-China dialogue. In the past, the US has used interlocuters like Gates, who have goodwill in Beijing, to signal a shift in relations.
Blinken’s first visit to China is also the first by a US secretary of state since 2018 and that of a cabinet-level official since US president Joe Biden took office in 2021.
Despite intensified confrontation in the Pacific theatre, there were some quite significant dialogues between US and China last month. Bill Burns, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director, made a secret trip to China in May, where he met his Chinese counterparts. The US National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan met the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo member and Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi in Vienna from May 10-11.
Blinken’s trip is being called an attempt by the US to ‘reconnect’ with China rather than seeking a détente. The latter is highly unlikely now.
The Chinese foreign ministry’s remark gives you an insight into the context of Blinken’s visit. “The US should not have the illusion of dealing with China from a position of strength,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin.
The US believes it has the upper hand in negotiations with China, exemplified by exposing the Chinese spy balloon incident, as it seeks stability in the relationship. And Blinken wants to use that leverage now. But Beijing has limited leverage as China’s economy is in the doldrums, and predictions about US decline are not coming to fruition. The impending social and political decline of the US is a theory proposed by some Chinese political theorists including Wang Huning, Xi’s second-in-command. The prediction hasn’t come to bare as the US economy has managed to bounce back after Covid-19 and other complications of domestic political turmoil — at least so far.
Blinken will likely try to restart military and diplomatic communication channels, which were shut down after former speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei in Taiwan. Just as Blinken was about to embark on the trip to Beijing, Biden indicated he would like to meet Xi within the next few months.
The upcoming G20 Summit in New Delhi might provide an opportunity for their face-to-face meeting later this year. But the likelihood of Xi making the trip to New Delhi remains unclear.
Despite strong overtures by Washington DC, Beijing will not take visits like the one by Blinken seriously. The Chinese may seriously return to negotiations when they have leverage over the US and feel that they can reach a face-saving deal – that’s just not yet. Beijing will watch Washington’s actions vis-à-vis Taiwan to return to the negotiating table.
The Chinese state media reminded the Chinese public about the ‘Galwan Heroes’ on the third anniversary of the June clash with India soldiers in Ladakh. An op-ed published by China Youth Network titled “Take over the guns of the heroes who defend the country and defend the border” encouraged young people to join the army and follow the path of the soldiers who died in Galwan.
“We came here after listening to the stories of the heroes who defended the country and defended the border. I believe that we will not let our predecessors down,” said Liu Ning, a soldier in the border defence regiment posted opposite Eastern Ladakh.
One senior Chinese military official quoted Xi on ‘promoting heroes’.
“Chairman Xi emphasised that only by advocating for heroes can heroes be produced, and only by striving to be heroes can heroes be produced in large numbers,” wrote Zhang Guowen, deputy director of the Political Work Department of the Xinjiang Military Region.
Beijing may think that its propaganda can inspire the youth to join the army by reminding them about the relatively young age of Galwan soldiers. But often, such propaganda can have the opposite effect by discouraging the youth from ending up in the harsh terrain of China’s Himalayan border.
Also read: Trajectory of India-US partnership unmistakable, filled with promise: Antony Blinken
China in world news
China has accused India of using strong-arm tactics against its mobile phone makers such as Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo and Realme.
Recently, India’s Directorate of Enforcement (ED) issued show cause notices to Xiaomi’s CFO Sameer Rao, former MD Manu Jain and three foreign banks (CITI, HSBC and Deutsche Bank AG) for violating foreign exchange rules by allegedly laundering Rs 5,551.27 crore. The Directorate had earlier seized Xiaomi’s funds in April and accused the company of remitting it on behalf of its parent company in China.
Now, the government has asked the Chinese mobile phone manufacturers to appoint Indian citizens as equity partners and executives among a slew of other measures to tie the companies to India.
Beijing has a history of appointing Chinese nationals as the heads of foreign companies operating in the mainland. India is merely catching with what China has practised within its territory for many years.
Must read this week
Self-identified 5 predicaments in China’s international communications – Pekingnology
What Does the West Really Know About Xi’s China? – Odd Arne Westad
What Was China’s First Museum? – Wu Haiyun
The author is a columnist and a freelance journalist. He was previously a China media journalist at the BBC World Service. He is currently a MOFA Taiwan Fellow based in Taipei and tweets @aadilbrar. Views are personal.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)