Leading diplomats from the United States and China met on Saturday in a new effort to try to curb or at least manage the rampant hostility that has come to define recent relations between Washington and Beijing.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi were holding talks on the Indonesian island of Bali, a day after the two attended a high-level meeting. diplomats of the Group of 20 rich and large developing countries that failed. to reach a consensus on the Russian war in Ukraine and how to deal with its impacts.
Wang and Blinken had to discuss a number of controversial issues, from tariffs and trade and human rights to Taiwan and the disputes in the South China Sea. Just two days earlier, top U.S. and Chinese military officers met in Taiwan during a virtual meeting.
Blinken said as the couple addressed the meeting behind closed doors, “In a relationship as complex and consistent as the one between the United States and China, there is a lot to talk about and I look forward to a productive, constructive conversation. “.
Wang said “the two countries need to maintain normal exchanges” and “work together to ensure that this relationship continues to move forward on the right path.”
China’s frequent lines about staying committed to the principles of “mutual respect”, “peaceful coexistence” and “cooperation among all” were echoed. This, he said, “serves the interests of both countries and two peoples. It is also the shared aspiration of the international community.”
Blinken was expected to repeat warnings to China not to support Russia’s war in Ukraine and the two sides would address controversial issues including Taiwan, the extensive claims of the South China Sea, its expansion of influence in the Pacific, human rights and trade tariffs.
U.S. officials said in advance that they did not expect any progress on Blinken’s talks with Wang. But they said they hoped the conversation could help keep lines of communication open and create “guardrails” to guide the world’s two largest economies as they navigated increasingly complex and potentially explosive issues.
Daniel Russel, a senior US diplomat for East Asia under former President Barack Obama who has close contact with Biden administration officials, said he believed a key goal of the meeting would be to explore the possibility of an in-person meeting between the President of the United States. Joe Biden and Xi, the first as leaders, possibly on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Bali in November.
The US and China have raised increasingly conflicting positions, including on Ukraine, which some fear could lead to miscalculations and conflicts. The United States has watched cautiously as China refuses to criticize the Russian invasion, while condemning Western sanctions against Russia and accusing the US and NATO of provoking the conflict.
The Biden administration had hoped that China, with its long history of opposition to what it sees as interference in its own internal affairs, would take a similar position with Ukraine. But it has not done so, choosing instead what American officials see as a hybrid position that is damaging the norm-based international order.
At the G20 meeting, Wang made an oblique reference to China’s policy on global stability, saying: “Putting one’s own security above the security of others and intensifying military blocs will only divide the international community and make it less safe, “according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
On Thursday, the joint chairman of China’s chiefs of staff, General Li Zuocheng, criticized his American counterpart, General Mark Milley, for Washington’s support for Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province.
He demanded that the United States cease military “collusion” with Taiwan, saying China “has no room for compromise” on issues affecting its “core interests,” which include Taiwan’s self-government. Beijing claims it as its own territory, to be annexed by force if necessary.
“China demands that the US … stop reversing history, stop military collusion between the US and Taiwan, and avoid affecting China-US ties and stability in the Straits of Taiwan, ”Li said.
At the same time, Li was also quoted in a Defense Ministry press release as saying that China hoped to “further strengthen dialogue, manage risks and promote cooperation, rather than deliberately creating confrontations, provoking incidents and excluding each other. “.
China routinely flies warplanes near Taiwan to announce its threat of attack, and the island’s defense ministry said Chinese air force planes crossed the Taiwan Strait’s midline. which splits the two sides Friday morning.
The meeting between Li and Milley followed the ardent comments of Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe at a regional security conference last month which was also attended by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Wei accused the United States of trying to “hijack” the support of countries in the Asia-Pacific region to turn them against Beijing, saying Washington sought to advance its own interests “in the guise of multilateralism.”
At the same meeting in Singapore, Austin said China was causing instability with its claim to Taiwan and increased military activity in the area.
In May, Blinken incurred Chinese anger at calling the country the “most serious long-term challenge to U.S. international order,” with his claims to Taiwan and efforts to dominate the strategic sea of the United States. South China.
The U.S. and its allies have responded with what they call “freedom of navigation” patrols in the South China Sea, prompting outraged responses from Beijing.