Antony Blinken has arrived in Beijing for the highest-level US visit since 2018

The US Secretary of State is dispatched to ease bilateral tensions before the elections.

Article written by

Posted

Reading time : 1 min.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken upon his arrival in Beijing, China on June 18, 2023. (LEAH MILLIS / AFP)

Initiate a diplomatic thaw. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Beijing on Sunday June 18 to ease bilateral tensions between the two countries. This is the highest-level visit by a United States diplomat to China since 2018. While no one expects major progress, as there are so many areas of friction, the idea remains to maintain a dialog for “responsibly manage the China-US relationship”according to the State Department.

Hurry up. Next year will be an election deadline both in the United States and in Taiwan, which China considers to be one of its provinces that it must reunite, by force if necessary.

“The world expects the United States and China to cooperate”

Speaking in Washington before his departure, Antony Blinken wanted to be moderately optimistic. “Intense competition requires continuous diplomacy to ensure it does not turn into confrontation or conflict”he said, because “The world expects the United States and China to cooperate”.

Among the main disputes, trade and the democratic self-governing island of Taiwan. The Biden administration also wants to cooperate with China on key issues such as the climate. The visit of the Secretary of State also comes as part of China is experiencing a heat wave, with a new temperature record for mid-June crossed Friday in Beijing, at 39.4 ° C.


source site-33