Secretary Blinken visits Beijing as tensions grow between U.S. and China: Why it matters

Secretary of State Antony Blinken departed for Beijing on Friday in a long-shot bid to reset the great power rivalry between the United States and China that seems on a bitter path to becoming a civilizational clash between democracy and autocracy.

The long-delayed trip, postponed by tensions over a Chinese spy balloon that flew over the continental United States, will mark the first visit to China by a Cabinet official since President Joe Biden took office in 2021. Blinken will seek to reestablish diplomatic and military lines of communication to "responsibly manage" the relationship between the two nations, according to a State Department statement announcing the trip.

But as Blinken meets with senior Chinese officials over the weekend, some are skeptical that there is any possibility of easing tensions – or even that it is a good idea.

At home, members of Congress and 2024 presidential candidates have increasingly labeled China as the biggest threat to the United States.

Nikki Haley, a former ambassador to the United Nations who is seeking the 2024 Republican nomination, wrote in a tweet on Friday that Biden "has utterly failed in his dealings with China."

"Now, he's sending Sec. Blinken to China to pursue a 'thaw,'" she wrote. "That's insane."

Others don't think so.

'The China relationship takes work'

Scott Mulhauser, who served as chief of staff at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing for Ambassador Max Baucus, said in an interview with USA TODAY "it’s pretty clear that, no matter the Administration or the moment, the China relationship takes work."

"That work involves balancing where we need to be tough and looking for ways to find solutions to broader global issues," he added. "That is no easy feat. But if anyone can do it, Tony Blinken can do it."

And while Blinken will stop in London on his way back from Beijing to attend the Ukraine Recovery Conference and shore up international support for Ukraine, for many American voters the perceived threat of China is of greater concern than increasing aid for Ukraine.

Mulhauser, however, said that the Biden administration can accomplish both foreign policy goals.

"Successfully navigating the US-China relationship and supporting Ukraine in its fight for democracy are not mutually exclusive," he said.

Some European allies, meanwhile, have called for aggressive "de-risking" of the West's relationship with China – reducing dependence on Chinese exports including microchips and rare earth minerals – to avoid the type of dependence on Russian energy that gave Vladimir Putin major political leverage.

There are also calls on the West to "decouple" from China, if Beijing persists in menacing behavior, particularly in relation to Taiwan.

'Purely performative'

Craig Singleton, a China expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said in a statement to USA TODAY that Blinken's visit to Beijing is "in many respects, purely performative."

"Its outcome will bear very little significance on the downward trajectory of Sino-U.S. relations," Singleton added.

The trip to China has been in the works since November 2022, when President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a three-hour meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.

Blinken, the top US diplomat, originally planned to travel to Beijing in February, but the White House canceled his visit after it discovered the spy balloon. The balloon traversed the country before it was eventually shot down by a U.S. warplane off the South Carolina coast. Chinese officials, however, maintain it was a civilian airship used for meteorological research that was blown off course.

In the months since, U.S. officials repeatedly stated that Blinken hoped to reschedule his trip to China.

But during that same period of time, relations between the two countries have become increasingly fraught. Just two weeks after the U.S. shot down the spy balloon, Blinken met with Wang Yi, the most senior Chinese foreign policy official, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

Blinken said in a February interview with CBS News that there was "no apology" from Wang during their meeting in Munich.

"I made very clear to him that China sending a surveillance balloon over the United States – in violation of our sovereignty, in violation of international law – was unacceptable and must never happen again," Blinken said.

Biden takes aim

Biden also took aim at China during his State of the Union speech on Feb. 7, during which he singled Xi out by name.

"If China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country," Biden said, referring to the spy balloon incident. "And we did."

In his address, Biden claimed that since the start of his presidency, "democracies have become stronger, not weaker, autocracies have grown weaker, not stronger."

"Name me a world leader who'd change places with Xi Jinping," Biden added, his voice rising. "Name me one."

Tensions between the U.S. and China were further inflamed by two military incidents in more recent weeks. A U.S. Navy destroyer nearly collied with a Chinese warship in the Taiwan Strait days after a Chinese fighter jet flew directly in front of a U.S. Air Force plane over the South China Sea.

Few signs, however, pointed to the tensions cooling down before Blinken's arrival in Beijing.

During a Wednesday phone call with Blinken ahead of his visit, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said "it is very clear who is to blame" for deteriorating U.S.-China relations, according to a readout of the call from the Chinese foreign ministry.

Qin Gang "stressed that the United States should respect China’s concerns, stop interfering in China's internal affairs, and stop undermining China's sovereignty, security, and development interests in the name of competition," the Chinese foreign ministry's readout added.

But Mulhauser said that Blinken's visit amid souring relations should not be interpreted as a sign of weakness.

"Nobody thinks the Biden Administration is cozying up to China – just look at the policies from the South China Sea to new laws taking China on in even stronger ways economically," he said.

"The reality of this moment is that tensions are high and one of the ways you reduce tensions and reduce global risk is you engage and meet face to face to stand up for yourself, your values, and your country,” Mulhauser added.

Previous coverage: China spy balloon gathered information from multiple military sites despite attempts to block it, report says

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Secretary Blinken visits China in bid to reduce tensions. What we know