Antony Blinken will return to China, to warn Beijing about Russia and Taiwan

The head of American diplomacy is putting pressure on Beijing, suspected of supporting Russia militarily in its war in Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make his second visit to China in less than a year next week, hoping to take advantage of the easing of relations to pressure Beijing to reduce its support for the Russian war machine. The trip by the head of American diplomacy, from Wednesday to Friday, is a sign of a further decline in frictions between the United States and China, which were exacerbated under former President Donald Trump, who once again promised a hard line against Beijing if he wins the November elections.

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But President Joe Biden, while seeking greater stability between the world’s two largest economies, kept up the pressure. In the days before Antony Blinken’s visit, the White House tenant jointly met with the leaders of Japan and the Philippines, two US allies wary of Chinese ambitions, and proposed increasing tariffs tariffs on steel against a China which does not play the game.

“We are in a different situation than a year ago, when bilateral relations were at a historically low level”a senior American official told journalists before the trip was announced on Saturday. “We set out to stabilize bilateral relations without sacrificing our ability to strengthen our alliances, compete vigorously and defend our interests”.

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Pressure on support for Russia

Antony Blinken intends in particular to raise with Beijing his support for the Russian defense industry, which impacts the battlefield in Ukraine. Washington acknowledges that China has refrained from providing direct military assistance to Russia, but denounces the transfer of dual-use materials that Russia uses to produce munitions and weapons used in its war against Ukraine.

During a press conference Friday in Italy, the head of American diplomacy accused China of” feed “ indirectly the conflict in Ukraine: “If China wants to have friendly relations with Europe and other countries on the one hand, it cannot fuel what is the greatest threat to European security since the end of the War on the other hand. cold ».

As a guarantee of rapprochement, Antony Blinken will make a stopover before Beijing in the metropolis of Shanghai, where he intends to encourage the strengthening of cultural ties between the United States and China. This trip follows a recent telephone conversation between Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, as well as a visit to China by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. The two heads of state met near San Francisco in November, where they worked to put the Sino-American relationship back on track, notably by reestablishing military dialogue at the highest level and committing to cooperate in the fight against fentanyl, a synthetic drug that is wreaking havoc in the United States.

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Message on Taiwan

Antony Blinken also intends to warn Beijing against action “provocative” during the inauguration next month (May 20) of Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te, the US official said. Taiwan is a major Source of disagreement, with China protesting US arms sales to Taipei, while the United States complains that Beijing intends to change the status quo there.

For Yun Sun, research fellow at the Stimson Center, China is facing a difficult recovery of its economy and is seeking appeasement. Chinese leaders “do not have the means to confront a bellicose or destabilizing United States at this stage”she says. “They are not willing to bet that the United States will re-engage economically, but they can keep them at bay”she adds.