The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken will receive his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at the end of the week in Washington, senior American officials announced Monday, which could foreshadow a visit by President Xi Jinping to the United States by the end of the ‘year.
Wang Yi’s visit to Washington, scheduled for Thursday to Saturday, comes in the wake of multiple contacts in recent months between Americans and Chinese who are striving to “responsibly manage” tensions between the two great rival powers.
The Sino-Russian rapprochement, the war in Ukraine and, above all, that between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas should feature in the discussions, at a time when the international community is worried about an escalation of the conflict.
In this regard, China strongly deplored the decision of the United States to block a UN resolution last week which called for a “humanitarian pause” between Hamas and Israel.
For Washington, the meeting with Wang Yi will be an opportunity to encourage Beijing to have “a more constructive approach” in these two conflicts and beyond, said a senior American official on condition of anonymity.
Influence
There are many areas of friction. From Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory, to China’s activities in the South China Sea, as evidenced by the latest incident of a collision between Chinese and Philippine ships that Washington strongly deplored.
China has also moved closer to Vladimir Putin’s Russia and is striving to extend its influence in the world, including in the Middle East.
This is about “continuing our efforts to maintain open channels of communication” with Beijing and “managing our competition responsibly,” another senior American official told journalists when announcing the visit.
No details were provided on his precise program or whether Wang Yi would be received by US President Joe Biden.
During his visit to Beijing last June, Secretary of State Antony Blinken was received by the Chinese president.
The visit could in any case serve to prepare for that of Chinese President Xi Jinping to the United States, possibly on the sidelines of the next summit of APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) countries in San Francisco in mid -november.
Joe Biden has repeatedly expressed his “hope” for a next meeting before the end of the year, while their last face-to-face meeting dates back to the G20 summit in Bali in November 2022.
“Containment”
Relations between Beijing and Washington are punctuated by tensions such as during the flight by a Chinese balloon over American territory at the start of the year.
In June, Joe Biden offended Beijing by asserting that Xi Jinping belonged to the category of “dictator”.
The United States highlights the strengthening of its alliances in Asia, which Beijing considers to be nothing other than a desire to “contain” and “encircle” China.
In recent months, the United States has received Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a state visit to Washington, held a trilateral summit at Camp David with the leaders of Japan and South Korea, and strengthened defense alliances with the Philippines. and Pacific Islands.
President Biden also made a historic visit to Vietnam and will receive Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese this Wednesday at the White House.
President Biden, who has described America as a “beacon” of democratic aspirations in the world, is also asking Congress for an additional 7.4 billion to stand up to China, militarily and economically.