Blinken to seek to ‘responsibly manage’ tense ties on rare China trip

Washington, United States (AFP):

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will seek to reduce the chances of miscalculation on a rare visit to Beijing, officials said, but both sides expect long-term tensions to fester.

The State Department confirmed that Blinken will travel this weekend to Beijing on the first trip by a top US diplomat in nearly five years, rescheduling a visit that was scrapped in February as the United States said it detected a Chinese spy balloon.

Ahead of the trip, Blinken spoke by telephone with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and stressed “the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to responsibly manage” the relationship, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

Relations between the world’s two largest economies have tanked in recent years over Taiwan, trade and human rights and a litany of other issues.

Daniel Kritenbrink, the top State Department official for East Asia, said that the United States was “realistic” about what Blinken could achieve.

“We’re not going to Beijing with the intent of having some sort of breakthrough or transformation,” Kritenbrink told reporters.

Instead, Blinken is coming with a “sincere desire to manage our competition in the most responsible way possible.”

The United States hopes the trip “will, at a minimum, reduce the risk of miscalculation so that we do not veer into potential conflict.”