US-Sino Relations: No real change

US-Sino Relations: No real change

Talal Abu-Ghazaleh

Having reached concerning levels, the saber rattling between the US and China has been a worrying development that I have addressed on many occasions before. The increasing hostility between the two, both economically and politically, has deteriorated to the point where both sides have publically warned of possible confrontation with the other.
In a positive move however, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met China’s President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday 19 June 2023, in a bid to ease tensions and improve communication between the world’s two largest economies. The meeting, which was not originally on Blinken’s schedule and was only announced an hour before it took place was the first face to face encounter between the two leaders since Blinken took office in January 2023. It came after months of frosty relations between Washington and Beijing, marked by disputes over trade, human rights, Taiwan, Hong Kong, cybersecurity and other issues. A previous meeting was originally scheduled for February this year, but was cancelled after the US shot down a supposed Chinese spy balloon found in US airspace.
After a 35 minute meeting at the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square, Blinken told reporters: “I stressed that… sustained communication at senior levels is the best way to responsibly manage differences and ensure that competition does not veer into conflict. I heard the same from my Chinese counterparts. We both agree on the need to stabilize our relationship.”  Blinken also said that he was “clear-eyed” about China and there were “many issues on which we profoundly - even vehemently – disagree.”
For his part Xi said that the two sides had made progress and reached agreement on some specific issues, but did not elaborate on what they were, saying that China and the US should respect each other’s core interests and major concerns, should avoid confrontation and conflict, and should cooperate on global challenges such as climate change, public health and economic recovery.
Both leaders agreed on the need to stabilize their relationship and to prevent competition from turning into conflict. But they also acknowledged that there were major differences on many issues.
The meeting followed a visit by Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates to Beijing earlier in June where he met President Xi, showing some potential for cooperation between the two countries on issues such as clean energy and innovation.
Blinken’s visit to China was part of his Asia tour, which also included stops in Japan, South Korea and India. He said that his trip aimed to demonstrate US commitment to its allies and partners in the region, as well as to uphold a free and open Indo-Pacific.
He also said that he had raised concerns about China’s actions in the region, such as its military pressure on Taiwan, its maritime claims in the South China Sea and its crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong.
The meeting between Blinken and Xi is undoubtedly a positive sign of re-engagement and a message to their own people that they are willing to reach out to each other. The two countries will need to balance their interests and values, manage their differences and risks, and seek common ground and solutions.
It is encouraging that hostile rhetoric between the two has moved down a gear. However, the very nature of the relationship between them, each representing a major trading bloc as well as differing political interests, is set to remain fraught with challenges and uncertainties.
In my personal view, no progress, no agreement, no hopes.