Blinken in China for talks as US sanctions threat looms

US secretary of state Antony Blinken has arrived in China on a mission to press Beijing on issues including its support for Russia and industrial overcapacity, with the threat of new US sanctions looming over the visit.

The top American diplomat will hold talks with senior Communist Party officials in the economic hub of Shanghai on Thursday, before heading to Beijing for a final day of meetings, including a possible face-to-face with President Xi Jinping.

Blinken will try to convince Chinese officials to halt trade that has enabled Russia’s defense industrial base to rebuild despite Western curbs imposed after its invasion of Ukraine. Also on the agenda are Beijing’s territorial claims over the self-ruled island of Taiwan and its aggression in the South China Sea, a senior US official said.

The hawkish US election season is testing a stabilization in ties brokered by Xi and President Joe Biden last year. The US leader last week blasted Beijing as “xenophobic,” vowed more tariffs on China and opened a probe into the Asian nation’s ship industry.

Beijing’s response to the latest trade salvos has been limited to symbolic tit-for-tat tariffs, as Xi focuses on wooing foreign investors and reviving an economy battling a protracted property slowdown.

“You often see the most activist Chinese response at times when they’re feeling empowered and strong,” said Jude Blanchette, an expert on China and foreign investment at Washington’s Center for International and Strategic Studies. “Right now, the leadership in Beijing is having to put out a lot of fires.”

Adding to those concerns is the threat of new sanctions.