Blinken expected to issue strong warning on support for Russia as he arrives in China for key meetings

CNN

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in China on Wednesday where he is expected to issue a strong warning to Chinese leaders over the country's support for Russia's efforts to increase arms production as the war in Ukraine continues.

America's top diplomat has landed in Shanghai where he is expected to meet local officials and business leaders. trip to Beijing for meetings with senior Chinese officials. The journey is his second behind the country in less than a year is the latest in a series of high-level engagements that have resulted in a summit meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in California in November after a period of immense tension.

secretary of the treasury Janet Yellen visited the country just a few weeks ago, and Biden and Xi speak on the phone earlier this month.

“We are in a different situation than a year ago, when bilateral relations were at a historic low,” a senior State Department official said.

Although officials from both countries have suggested that Blinken's agenda will focus on managing relations and communicating concerns, there are still sharp divisions and conversations are not expected to be easy, particularly on the issue of support from China to Russia's industrial base as war breaks out in Russia. Ukraine continues.

The Biden administration has increasingly sounded the alarm on China's support as Russia accelerates the pace of its weapons manufacturing efforts, which the United States says has allowed Moscow to continue its war against Ukraine.

We see China sharing machine tools, semiconductors and other dual-use goods that have helped Russia rebuild its defense industrial base that sanctions and export controls had done so much to degrade, Blinken said at a news conference in Italy last week.

China has not provided direct military support to Russia, but the industrial and logistical assistance it provides is having a significant impact, at a time when the Ukrainian army is plagued by a shortage of equipment and supplies. weapons.

As Russia has begun to rebuild its defense capabilities, the United States has sought to rally its allies to pressure Beijing through diplomatic means or, if that fails, through punitive measures to stop provide support, and Blinken is expected to deliver a strong message on the issue. during her visit.

Russia is no longer on the sidelines, a second senior State Department official said. They are skyrocketing. They have a substantial heritage, they have reconstituted themselves. They pose a threat not only to Ukraine but also to the region as a whole.

Blinken will argue that supporting Russia harms not just Ukraine, but all of European security.

China cannot have it both ways, Blinken said. He cannot claim to want to maintain positive relations with Europe while fueling the greatest threat to Europe since the end of the Cold War.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Monday that we believe China can do more, and we have always made clear that we are willing and able to take our own steps if appropriate, and I think I'll leave it there.

Despite the threat of U.S. action, a Chinese Foreign Ministry official signaled Tuesday that Beijing was unlikely to reverse its support for Moscow, warning the United States against undermining normal state-to-state relations. and calling on the United States to lift sanctions against China. entities, during a state press briefing.

The Ukraine issue is not a China-US issue, and the United States should not make it a China-US issue, the official said.

Chinese officials are also expected to raise areas of concern with Blinken.

Grievances are growing in Beijing over what it sees as an intensification of US efforts to contain and suppress China, despite increased communications between the two countries following last November's Biden-Xi summit. .

Although U.S.-China relations have stabilized since the summit, negative factors in the relationship are also very significant, the Chinese Foreign Ministry official said at a press briefing on Tuesday.

The United States stubbornly pursues its strategy of containing China and continues to use wrong words and deeds that interfere in China's internal affairs, smear China's image and harm China's interests. We strongly oppose it and oppose it, the official said.

Nonetheless, the Biden administration is keen to keep the lines of communication open and believes that China is currently on the same page. China has realized that its aggressive diplomacy has failed profoundly because it has alienated more than it attracted, the second senior State Department official said, explaining why China is now open to commitment.

The Chinese want a more stable global environment, their economy has slowed significantly, they want more investment, the official explained, adding that China wants engagement specifically from American companies.

Other issues related to the Indo-Pacific region are also expected to feature prominently in Blinkens' meetings.

The Biden administration has sought to strengthen its alliances in the region in the face of provocations from Beijing in the South China Sea. In recent weeks, Biden has hosted his Filipino and Japanese counterparts to an inaugural summit in Washington, where he reaffirmed the United States' commitment to the defense of the Philippines. The United States deployed a powerful land attack missile system in the Philippines and conducted a series of joint exercises with the treaty ally.

At a Tuesday press briefing, China's Foreign Ministry official accused the United States of being obsessed with coercing its allies into forming an anti-China clique and interfering in the China Sea South and sow discord between China and ASEAN, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Blinkens' visit also comes at a sensitive time in the Taiwan Strait, less than a month before the self-ruled island of Taiwan is sworn in. a new president that Beijing openly hates.

The first senior State Department official said the secretary of state can be expected to emphasize, both privately and publicly, the continuing U.S. interest in maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

We believe this is of vital importance for the region and the world. And we particularly hope, during this important and sensitive period leading up to the May 20 inauguration, that all countries will contribute to peace and stability, avoid taking provocative measures that could increase tensions, and exercise restraint. . This will be our message going forward, the official said.

The ruling Chinese Communist Party considers Taiwan part of its territory, even though it has never controlled it. While successive Chinese communist leaders have pledged to ultimately achieve reunification, Xi has repeatedly stated that the Taiwan issue should not be passed down from generation to generation and has significantly stepped up economic, military and diplomatic pressure against its democratic neighbor in recent years.

The Taiwan Relations Act requires Washington to provide weapons for the island's defense, and Biden has has repeatedly suggested that it would use U.S. military personnel to defend itself in the event of a Chinese invasion (although White House officials have said that U.S. policy to leave this issue ambiguous has not changed).

The two sides are also expected to discuss the situation in the Middle East. American officials I believe China has influence especially considering the amount of oil it imports from Iran. Blinken will argue that China should intervene more directly with Iran in order to be less provocative in the region, the second senior State Department official said.

I'll let China talk about whatever steps they've taken, Miller said Monday. But we will continue to make the case to China that it is not only in the interest of the region, it is not only in the interest of the United States, it is not only in the interest individual countries involved, but it is in the interest of the interests of China and the whole world to avoid further escalation of the conflict.

Blinken is expected to discuss the flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals to the United States and military-to-military dialogue, which are two areas Xi made commitments in during his meeting with Biden.

In both cases, the Chinese have taken some first steps, the second senior State Department official said, adding that much remains to be done on both fronts.

Blinken is also expected to raise concerns about China's efforts to bolster its nuclear arsenal as well as the cases of Americans who have been prevented from leaving China due to exit bans or those the State Department has deemed detained wrongly, notably Mark Swidan, Kai Li., and David Lin.