BEIJING: China and the United States agreed on Monday to stabilise their intense rivalry so it doesn’t veer into conflict but failed to produce any major breakthrough during a rare visit to Beijing by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed “prog­ress” after shaking hands with Blinken at the Great Hall of the People, a grand venue usually reserved for greeting heads of state.

The top US diplomat and Xi both highlighted the importance of having a more stable relationship, as any conflict between the world’s two largest economies would create global disruption.

Reduce risks

While China refused to entertain Washington’s bid to resume military-to-military communication channels and cited US sanctions as the obstacle, the White House called the meeting “a good step forward”.

Progress is hard, it takes time, and it’s not product of one visit, says Blinken

Blinken’s overarching message was to emphasise the importance of maintaining open channels of communications to reduce risks, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

At one of the most significant US-China exch­an­ges since President Joe Biden took office, it was not clear how they would overcome their differences, but they agreed to continue their diplomatic engagements with more visits in the coming weeks and months.

At a news conference concluding his two-day trip to Beijing, Blinken said Washington had achieved its objectives for the trip, including raising its concerns directly, trying to set up channels for dialogue and exploring areas of cooperation.

But he said progress was not straightforward. “The relationship was at a point of instability, and both sides recognised the need to work to stabilise it,” he said before leaving China.

“But progress is hard. It takes time. And it’s not the product of one visit, one trip, one conversation. My hope and expectation is: we will have better communications, better eng­a­gement going forward.”

US officials hope Blin­ken’s visit will pave the way for more bilateral meetings in coming months, including possible trips by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Agreement on some issues

“The two sides have also made progress and reached the agreement on some specific issues. This is very good,” Xi told Blinken across a long table bedecked with pink lotus flowers. Blinken respon­ded by saying the two countries have a responsibility to manage their relationship.

It was not clear from Xi’s remarks what progress he was referring to, although he told Blinken that China “hopes to see a sound and steady China-US relationship” and believes that the two countries “can overcome various difficulties”, according to a Chinese readout of the talks.

He also urged the US not to “hurt China’s legitimate rights and interests,” a signal of potential flashpoints such as Taiwan.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2023