During his visit, Blinken spoke with representatives of the business community and his counterpart Qin Gang, among others. A meeting with Xi Jinping has long been uncertain. However, according to Hammelbrug, no concrete agreements or decisions will be made.
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‘But you always have to look at the language and not so much the content in this sort of thing. In this case it was clear and profound, a positive comment from Xi.” However, according to Hammelburg, the foreign minister’s comments were frank and firm. “That means they had a bonje and now they don’t. Blinken has apparently built a bridge. This opens the door to what they really want: a summit between Biden and Xi Jinping.”
It is the first time in five years that the US Secretary of State has visited China. It was due to launch in February but was canceled due to Chinese spy balloons over the United States. Blinken’s mission to China therefore has interfaces with several topics, such as the passage in the South China Sea. “China considers that sea its property and thinks that the islands found there are also Chinese, while the rest of the world sees it differently”.
Taiwan
From time to time, the United States sails through that sea with aircraft carriers, which leads to tensions. “Those tensions have to be dissipated. That won’t happen in a few weeks, but maybe in the long run,” says Hammelburg.
Furthermore, there is disagreement over Taiwan’s position. In China’s eyes, the rest of the world is taking a provocative stance on this. ‘Both China, Taiwan and the rest of the world accepted at the time that China and Taiwan were one country. So the Chinese are very angry that the Americans are pretending Taiwan is an independent country, because it’s not.” It’s unclear whether that tension can be removed from the air as well, but Hammelburg sees possibilities. “It would be very important.”
Economy
The talks between Blinken and the Chinese government also concern the economy. “America is the largest buyer of Chinese products, the economies are intertwined,” Hammelburg points out. For example, nearly 50 percent of all Volkswagens are made in China, as are 90 percent of all antibiotics taken in America.
“Those aren’t things you can change overnight. You have to make sure that the political tension subsides a bit and you don’t constantly shout something that is not possible, namely the decoupling of those economies.’
The tensions between the two countries will not disappear overnight. “But the fact that there has been a consultation at this level as a prelude to a possible summit with Biden, I think that’s really good news.”