Antony Blinken Presses China On Russia Ties During Visit To Shanghai: Expert Says Visit Aims To 'Avoid Awkward Scenarios'

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Shanghai for a visit aimed at improving U.S.-China relations, despite a host of unresolved issues.

What Happened: Blinken’s visit includes meetings with business leaders in Shanghai before heading to Beijing for discussions with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and possibly President Xi Jinping on Friday.

This trip is the latest in a series of high-level contacts and working groups that have somewhat eased the public acrimony that pushed relations to historic lows in early 2023.

However, the U.S. and China have made little progress on several contentious issues, including China’s supply of chemicals for fentanyl production, the Taiwan situation, and China’s support for Russia in the Ukraine war.

While significant progress is unlikely, both nations desire “open lines of communication to avoid awkward scenarios,” says Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.

Blinken is expected to urge China to prevent its firms from aiding Russia’s defense industrial base. The U.S. has warned that Chinese companies are supplying dual-use technology that aids Russia’s war efforts.

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Despite these tensions, a Chinese foreign ministry official quoted by Xinhua said relations have shown signs of stabilization since the meeting between Biden and Xi in November 2023.

Other contentious issues on the agenda include the U.S. Congress’s move to force ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban, and human rights concerns, particularly China’s treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang.

Despite the tensions, there have been attempts to find common ground on issues such as the Middle East conflict, demonstrating the potential for cooperation between the two nations.

Why It Matters: Before his visit, Blinken had expressed intentions to warn China over its support for Russia’s military. He stated that the U.S. is prepared to take necessary steps against firms that undermine security in Ukraine and Europe.

In a G7 meeting, Blinken had also hinted at the possibility of sanctions on Chinese banks for their alleged support of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Amid these tensions, the U.S. has been working on strengthening its own alliances. The AUKUS pact, a trilateral defense and security agreement between Australia, the U.K., and the U.S., is one such initiative aimed at enhancing stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

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