Xi, Blinken, amid lotus & subtle messages, dial down rhetoric
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, June 19: The Chinese hosts slotted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, first to visit Beijing since 2018, to the depth of the cold relations between the U.S. and China. The Chinese ruler, President Xi Jinping, sat down for an official discussion with Blinken on Monday with lotus flowers overlooking the turns and twists of the bilateral relations.
The China watchers read the significance of lotus-decked long table to claim that China was seeking reconciliation and peace. Yet, Wang Yi, the top diplomat of China and also the head of the foreign affairs department with position above the Foreign Minister Qin Gang, carried the task of unleashing the dragon fire in his meeting with Blinken.
After maintaining suspense over Blinken’s meeting with Xi, the top US diplomat was hosted at the Great Hall of the People by the Chinese ruler, who is now in his third term and spearheading muscular nationalism, while also unleashing an agile foreign policy, which swept through to win key allies in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, and others in the recent months with deft deal-makings.
Blinken’s visit, first cancelled after the U.S. Air Force shot down suspected Chinese spy balloons, was preceded with soaring temperature in bilateral relations, set off by Nancy Pelosi, former Congress chairperson, storming into Taiwan, and subsequent drumming up of calls for ‘de-coupling. The last contact between the two largest economies of the world was at Bali, Indonesia on the sidelines of the G20 Summit where Joe Biden, the American president, and Xi had “argumentative” exchange of views.
“Both the U.S. and China have a responsibility to inject stability, certainty and constructiveness into a turbulent world,” The Straits Times quoted the Chinese Foreign Ministry of Xi having told Biden during the delegation level discussion.
On subtle messaging, Xi didn’t accord the warmth of proximity in seating Blinken alongside as done for Bill Gates last week. Blinken was also accorded a cold reception after his plane touched down in Beijing. Wang was also cold-faced when he received Blinken for delegation level talks.
“The current downturn in relations is rooted in the U.S.’s erroneous perception of China,” Wang is reported to have told Blinken. The American diplomat also countered on the necessity of maintaining status quo on China, and reiterating that competition between the two nations should not give way to conflicts.
“The Secretary underscored the importance of responsibly managing the competition between the United States and the PRC through open channels of communication to ensure competition does not veer into conflict,” stated the American statement after Blinken’s meeting with Wang.
Biden had also sought to cool down the soaring temperature in relations with China, as he made the statement that he was looking forward to meet Xi in the springs. The first objective of establishing the top level contact was seen to have been achieved by Blinken’s visit to Beijing. “…Blinken’s goal for this trip should not be improved relations or a thaw with the People’s Republic of China. Instead, he should seek to advance very concrete U.S. national interests. The U.S. and China achieving concrete outcomes together will improve the mood music in their bilateral relations, not the other way around,” former diplomat of the U.S. Michael McFaul had remarked on the eve of the Blinken visit.
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