This week the United States and China took a much-needed step toward improving their ties as Antony Blinken visited Beijing, the first visit by a US Secretary of State since 2018. The highlight of the visit, during which he met Chinese President Xi Jinping, was their agreement on the need for stability in relations. Mr Xi told Mr Blinken that the international community was “concerned” about the current state of relations and “does not want to see conflict or confrontation”. Mr Blinken said after the talks that “both agreed on the need to stabilize our relationship”. Of course, differences remain, and the visit did not produce expected breakthroughs on contentious issues such as the US export embargo or Taiwan. But the fact Mr Xi met with the US diplomat was a clear sign of progress, given the outcry over Mr Blinken’s visit in February and the shooting down of Chinese “spy balloons” over the US. The aim, Blinken said, was to “strengthen high-level communication challenges, clarify our positions and intentions in areas of disagreement” and explore areas where the two could “work together on shared international challenges”. . Asked in Beijing how the Biden administration would continue its effort to mend ties with China as domestic talks are expected to deteriorate ahead of the 2024 elections, he argued that continued efforts to protect US interests, including trade, were needed. Connection is the best way.
The challenge now is whether they can sustain this effort to arrest the fall and keep diplomatic channels open, even as the next crisis inevitably unfolds and against a backdrop of increasingly heated domestic political rhetoric. As Mr Xi told Mr Blinken, countries do not want to “choose sides”. This is especially true in a region where nations have deep economic ties with China and close security ties with the US that Beijing and Washington seem to agree on the need for stability, which should be welcomed, including India. While shared concern about China may be a binding factor, the India-US relationship has today acquired a deeper and wider scope, as confirmed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit this week, expected in the defense sector and technology Will be done in new agreements. Cooperation. In the not too distant past, high-level visits from Washington to Beijing may have caused some disquiet in New Delhi, especially during the short-lived “G2” phase during the Obama administration, but that is no longer the case.