Antony Blinken’s inaugural trip to China as US Secretary of State, occurring after a significant rupture in relations due to a Chinese spy balloon incident, is scheduled for Sunday, nearly five months after the disruption.
The original visit was unexpectedly canceled when the balloon, claimed by China to be monitoring weather, drifted across the continental US and was destroyed by American military aircraft.
During his visit, Blinken will engage in meetings with top Chinese foreign policy officials, although it remains uncertain whether he will also have a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who recently appeared alongside Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, in Beijing on Friday.
The two global superpowers possess an extensive array of concerns, ranging from high-profile disagreements to potential areas of collaboration.
Outlined below are three primary areas that are likely to take precedence on the agenda.
Restoring Relations The foremost objective of Blinken’s visit is to reinstate any form of diplomatic interactions between the two countries.
Last month, there was a preliminary breakthrough when senior US officials convened in Vienna, Austria.
However, Blinken’s visit holds immense significance as he is the most senior representative of the Biden administration to travel to China, marking the first visit by a US secretary of state to Beijing since October 2018.
According to Kurt Campbell, Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs, engaging in dialogue at this juncture contributes to reducing the risk of conflict, making it an opportune time to resume discussions.