SHANGHAI – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken began a critical trip to China armed with a strengthened diplomatic hand following Senate approval of a foreign aid package that will provide billions of dollars in assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as well as force TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the social media platform – all areas of contention between Washington and Beijing.
Blinken arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday, just hours after a Senate vote on the long-stalled legislation and just before President Joe Biden is expected to sign it into law to demonstrate U.S. resolve in defending its allies and partners. The bill’s passage will add further complications to an already complex relationship that has been strained by disagreements over numerous global and regional disputes.
Still, the fact that Blinken is making the trip – shortly after a conversation between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, a similar visit to China by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and a call between US and US defense chiefs China – is a sign that both sides are at least willing to discuss their differences.
Of primary interest to China, the project sets aside $8 billion to combat Chinese threats in Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific generally and gives China’s ByteDance nine months to sell TikTok, with a possible three-month extension if the sale is in progress. China protested US assistance to Taiwan, which it considers a renegade province, and immediately condemned the move as a dangerous provocation. It also strongly opposes efforts to force the sale of TikTok.
The bill also allocates $26 billion in wartime assistance to Israel and humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, and $61 billion for Ukraine to defend itself from Russia’s invasion. The Biden administration has become disillusioned with China’s response to the war in Gaza and has loudly complained that Chinese support for Russia’s military-industrial sector has allowed Moscow to subvert Western sanctions and intensify attacks on Ukraine.
Even before Blinken landed in Shanghai — where he will hold meetings on Thursday before traveling to Beijing — China’s Taiwan Affairs Office criticized the assistance to Taipei, saying it “seriously violates” U.S. commitments to China, ” sends the wrong signal to separatist Taiwan independence.” forces” and pushes the autonomous island republic into a “dangerous situation”.
China and the United States are the main players in the Indo-Pacific and Washington has become increasingly alarmed by Beijing’s growing aggressiveness in recent years toward Taiwan and Southeast Asian countries with which it has significant territorial and maritime disputes. in the South China Sea.
The US has strongly condemned Chinese military exercises that threaten Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province, and has vowed to reunify with the mainland by force if necessary. Successive US administrations have steadily increased military support and sales to Taiwan, much to China’s displeasure.
A senior State Department official said last week that Blinken would “underscore, both privately and publicly, America’s ongoing interest in maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. We think this is vitally important for the region and the world.”
In the South China Sea, the US and others are increasingly concerned about Chinese provocative actions in and around the disputed areas.
In particular, the US has expressed objections to what it considers to be Chinese attempts to impede the legitimate maritime activities of third parties at sea, namely the Philippines and Vietnam. That was a major topic of concern this month when Biden held a tripartite summit with the prime minister of Japan and the president of the Philippines.
On Ukraine, which US officials say will be the main topic of conversation during Blinken’s visit, the Biden administration said Chinese support has allowed Russia to largely rebuild its defense industrial base, affecting not only war in Ukraine, but posing a threat to wider Europe. security.
“If China intends, on the one hand, to want good relations with Europe and other countries, on the other hand it cannot be fueling what is the greatest threat to European security since the end of the Cold War,” Blinken said last week .
China claims it has the right to negotiate with Russia and accuses the US of fanning the flames by arming and financing Ukraine. “It is extremely hypocritical and irresponsible for the US to present a large-scale aid bill to Ukraine and at the same time make baseless accusations against normal economic and trade exchanges between China and Russia,” said the Ministry of Business spokesperson. Chinese foreigner, Wang Wenbin, on Tuesday.
In the Middle East, US officials from Biden onwards have repeatedly called on China to use whatever influence it may have over Iran to prevent Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza from turning into a wider regional conflict.
While China appears to have been generally receptive to such calls – especially as it relies heavily on oil imports from Iran and other Middle Eastern nations – tensions have been rising steadily since the start of the Gaza war in October and more recent direct and counterattacks between Israel and Iran.
Blinken pushed for China to take a more active stance in pressuring Iran not to increase tensions in the Middle East. He spoke with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, repeatedly urging China to tell Iran to restrict proxy groups it has supported in the region, including Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis and Iranian-backed militias. in Iraq and Syria.
The senior State Department official said Blinken would reiterate U.S. interest in China using “whatever channels or influence he has to try to convey the need for restraint to all parties, including Iran.”
The US and China are also at deep odds over human rights in the western region of Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong, as well as over the fate of several US citizens who, according to the State Department, were “unjustly detained” by the Chinese authorities, and on the supply of precursors to produce the synthetic opioid fentanyl, responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans.
China has repeatedly dismissed American criticism of its rights record as improper interference in its internal affairs. However, Blinken will raise these issues again, according to the State Department official.
Another department official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to preview Blinken’s private talks with Chinese officials, said China has made efforts to control the export of materials that traffickers use to produce fentanyl, but that more needs to be done.
The two parties agreed last year to create a working group to study ways to combat the increase in the production of fentanyl precursors in China and their export abroad. U.S. authorities say they believe they have made some limited progress in cracking down on the illicit industry, but many producers have found ways around the new restrictions.
“We need to see continued and sustained progress,” said the official, adding that “more regular enforcement of the law” against Chinese precursor producers “would send a strong signal of China’s commitment to resolving this issue.”
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
