US-China Relations Updates

Antony Blinken had originally planned to visit China in February, however, it was postponed due to the spy balloon incident, and he criticized China’s irresponsible behavior. However, afterward, the Chinese Foreign Ministry  suddenly changed its stance, claiming that both China nor the United States had not announced any visit and that the postponement of Blinken’s trip to China was solely a decision made by the US, despite Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin having expressed in January that “China welcomes US Secretary of State Blinken’s visit to China.”

According to a report by the Financial Times, four sources familiar with the coordination between the US and China revealed that China has informed the US that it is not prepared to reschedule Blinken’s postponed visit to China in February. Chinese officials are concerned that the US may publish a report on the FBI’s investigation into the spy balloon incident that flew over the US, which could be revealed during Blinken’s visit. It is currently unclear how the Biden Administration will handle this matter.

Qin Gang raised related issues with US officials who attended the China Development Forum in Beijing in March, stating that the FBI’s investigation into this matter is one of the issues that make it difficult to stabilize US-China relations. The FBI and the US National Security Council refused to disclose whether they would make this investigation public, and whether to disclose the investigation report has also caused divisions within the Biden administration, with some officials hoping to publicly present evidence that the balloon was indeed being monitored, while others believe that it may damage the relationship between the two countries.

Former President George W. Bush’s Asia advisor, Dennis Wilder, revealed that Beijing may not “give the green light” for Blinken’s visit to China without knowing whether the FBI investigation report will be made public. Several sources familiar with the matter also pointed out that China’s unwillingness to allow Blinken’s visit to China, in addition to the spy balloon incident, also includes US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen during his transit in California.

If Blinken can not visit China，Biden won’t be able to speak to Xi Jinping either！

On the bright side， it is said that China is arranging Yellen and Raimondo’s business trip to Beijing！ Jay Shambaugh, the US Treasury Department’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Affairs, stated on April 10 that the US is not seeking to decouple from China or restrict China’s growth economically.

“We occasionally have disagreements with the different economic policies that China takes, and we will always defend our economic interests, but we’re not going to try to completely separate the two economies in any way,” Shambaugh said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “It’s neither practical nor in our interest.”

On the same day, the White House stated that the US is in discussions with China regarding the arrangements for Treasury Secretary Yellen and Commerce Secretary Raimondo’s visit to China.  White House spokesperson John Kirby stated that the US is “eager to see the relationship between the two countries stabilize and improve” amid the current tense US-China relations.

Earlier, as reported by the Global Times, several senior officials from the US Department of  Commerce, including Elizabeth Isele, the senior advisor for China affairs to the US Commerce Secretary, will visit Beijing and Shanghai next week to lay the groundwork for Commerce Secretary Raimondo’s possible visit to China later this year.

Regarding Yellen and Raimondo’s visit to China, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce has stated that maintaining dialogue and communication between the two sides is crucial and that China maintains an open attitude towards their visit. “China will continue to work towards resolving mutual concerns through dialogue and promoting constructive and pragmatic cooperation,” the ministry added.