US Secretary of State Antony Blinken began his first day of meetings in China on Thursday by talking to local government officials in Shanghai, Chinese media reported.
Blinken discussed local and regional issues with Chen Jining, secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in Shanghai. He also planned to talk to students and business leaders before travelling by train to Beijing, where he is expected to hold tense talks with the country’s officials, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Blinken arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday shortly before President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion foreign aid package that has several elements that could anger the Chinese, including $8 billion to counter China’s growing aggressiveness toward Taiwan and in the South China Sea. The package also aims to force Chinese-based parent company TikTok to sell the social media platform.
China opposes US aid to Taiwan, a self-governing island it considers a breakaway province, and immediately condemned the move as a dangerous provocation. It also strongly opposes attempts to force the sale of TikTok.
Nevertheless, the fact that Blinken made the trip – shortly after Biden’s conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping, a similar visit to China by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and a phone call between the US and Chinese defence chiefs – indicates that the two sides are at least willing to discuss their differences. Blinken told Chen:
I think it’s important to underscore the value — in fact, the necessity — of direct engagement, of speaking to each other, laying out our differences, which are real, seeking to work through them. We have an obligation for our people, indeed an obligation to the world, to manage the relationship between our two countries responsibly. That is the obligation we have, and one that we take very seriously.
Chen agreed and said the recent conversation between Biden and Xi had contributed to the “stable and healthy development of our two countries’ relations.” He said:
Whether we choose co-operation or confrontation will determine the well-being of both peoples, both countries and the future of humanity.
Chen also added that he hoped Blinken was able to gain a “deep impression and understanding” of Shanghai.
Blinken then headed to the basketball stadium to watch the tense playoff game between Shanghai Sharks and Zhejiang Golden Bulls to the end.
