SHANGHAI: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made his second trip to China on Wednesday, April 24, as the US increases pressure on its adversary over its backing for Russia while also attempting to defuse tensions with Beijing.
The US envoy will meet with China’s top brass on Friday in Beijing. While there, he is anticipated to express US worries about Chinese economic practices, which are crucial for President Joe Biden in an election year, and to urge for moderation as Taiwan installs a new government.
However, Blinken is also attempting to stabilize relations since hostilities between the two biggest economies in the world have decreased noticeably since his June visit.
After arriving in Shanghai, Blinken will watch a Chinese basketball play-off game between two teams with players from the United States on their rosters to start his trip.
It would have seemed impossible until recently for the cordial side to be the first one by a US secretary of state to the busy city since Hillary Clinton in 2010—as hawks on both sides have previously spoken of a new Cold War between the two countries.
At the time, he was the highest-ranking US official to visit China in five years, and the trip was followed by a meeting between the countries’ presidents in November.
At that summit in California, Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a US wish list, including restoring contact between militaries and cracking down on precursor chemicals to fentanyl, the powerful painkiller behind an addiction epidemic in the United States.
Also Read:
According to TikTok, the US House bill to outlaw the App would “Trample”
