Blinken meets Chinese leader as Washington and Beijing spar
BEIJING — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, stressing the importance of “responsibly managing” the differences between the United States and China as the two sides butted heads over a number of contentious bilateral, regional and global issues.
Talks between the two sides have increased in recent months, even as differences have grown. Blinken said he raised concerns with Xi about China’s support for Russia and its invasion of Ukraine, as well as other issues including Taiwan and the South China Sea, human rights and the production and export of synthetic opioid precursors.
Blinken sounded a positive note on recent progress made in bilateral co-operation, including in military communications, counter-narcotics and artificial intelligence, on which the two sides agreed to start a dialogue on how to reduce risks from the rapidly emerging technology.
“We are committed to maintaining and strengthening lines of communication to advance that agenda, and again deal responsibly with our differences so we avoid any miscommunications, any misperceptions, any miscalculations,” he said.
But he added: “Even as we seek to deepen co-operation, where our interests align, the United States is very clear-eyed about the challenges posed by [China] and about our competing visions for the future. America will always defend our core interests and values.”
He said he raised ongoing concerns about Beijing’s supply of materials, including machine tools and microelectronics, to Moscow that President Vladimir Putin is using to boost Russia’s defences and its war on Ukraine.
“Russia would struggle to sustain its assault on Ukraine without China’s support,” Blinken said after meeting Xi. “Fuelling Russia’s defence industrial base not only threatens Ukrainian security, it threatens European security. As we’ve told China for some time, ensuring transatlantic security is a core U.S. interest.
In our discussions today. I made clear that if China does not address this problem, we will.”
Blinken did not elaborate on how the U.S. would address the matter if China did not, but Washington has imposed large numbers of sanctions against Chinese firms for doing business with countries such as Russia, Iran and North Korea.
Xi said China and the U.S. must seek common ground “rather than engage in vicious competition.”
“China is happy to see a confident, open, prosperous and thriving United States,” Xi said. “We hope the U.S. can also look at China’s development in a positive light. This is a fundamental issue that must be addressed.”