Xi, Blinken trade small nods over a large gap in talks

The areas where the United States and China can work together seem to be shrinking fast, and the risks of confrontation are growing. But it was clear Friday that both countries are trying to salvage what they can.

Preserving some semblance of cooperation — and the difficulty of doing so — was at the heart of a meeting between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China's leader, Xi Jinping, in Beijing on Friday. It was the latest effort by the rivals to keep communications open even as disputes escalate over trade, national security and geopolitical frictions.

Officials in both countries said they had made progress on a few smaller, pragmatic fronts, including setting up the first U.S.China talks on artificial intelligence in the coming weeks.

They also said they would continue improving communications between their militaries and increase cultural exchanges.

But on fundamental strategic issues, each side held little hope of moving the other, and they appeared wary of the possibility of sliding into further conflict.

China has accused the United States of working to stifle its technological progress and encircle Chinese interests in the Pacific.

The Biden administration is deeply concerned that cheap Chinese exports are endangering U.S. jobs, and is threatening more sanctions on China if Beijing does not roll back its support of Russia in its war in Ukraine.

“Russia would struggle to sustain its assault on Ukraine without China's support,” Blinken said at a predeparture news conference Friday. “I made clear that if China does not address this problem, we will.”

Blinken said he had pressed China to take further actions to stem the flow of materials used to make fentanyl, including prosecuting those who were selling chemicals and equipment.

He said the issue of TikTok, the Chinese-owned social media platform that faces a potential U.S. ban in nine to 12 months under a law passed this week, did not come up.

In a sign of how the countries' relations — which hit perhaps their lowest point in decades last year — had stabilized in recent months, Chinese officials struck a more conciliatory tone Friday than they had during Blinken's last visit, in June.

“China is happy to see a confident, open, prosperous and thriving United States,” Xi told Blinken, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry readout. “We hope the U.S. can also look at China's development in a positive light.”