China’s Xi will meet U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Beijing

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday, amid strained ties between the two countries as they battle for tech supremacy, with differences over the Middle East conflict and Russia-Ukraine war.

Speaking ahead of his closed-door meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Blinken said there is no substitute for “face-to-face diplomacy” and emphasized the need for the U.S. and China to avoid “miscalculations.”

Both sides need to make sure “that we’re as clear as possible about the areas where we have differences, at the very least to avoid misunderstandings, to avoid miscalculations,” he told reporters.

In his remarks, Wang told Blinken that U.S.-China relations are “beginning to stabilize” with increased dialogue and cooperation.

“This is welcomed by our two peoples and the international community,” he said, but warned that “negative factors” are rising and building, and that’s causing “all kinds of disruptions.”

“China’s legitimate development rights have been unreasonably suppressed and our core interests are facing challenges,” he said, telling Washington “not to step on China’s red lines.”

President Joe Biden met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in San Francisco last year on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference.

In early April, during a call with Xi — the first such phone meeting since July 2022 — Biden raised a host of U.S. concerns, according to a White House readout of the call.

Tensions have been simmering for years, from the trade war to the fallout over China’s alleged spy balloon over U.S. skies. More recently, the U.S. has accused China of aiding Russia’s military effort in Ukraine.

Ahead of Blinken’s visit, a senior State Department official said America’s top diplomat was planning to warn Beijing against supporting Russia’s efforts to rebuild its defense base, that threatens to undermine European security.

On Thursday, Blinken met with Shanghai’s Communist Party Secretary Chen Jining, and “raised concerns about trade policies and non-market economic practices,” according to the U.S. State Department.

He stressed that “the United States seeks a healthy economic competition” with China and a level-playing field for U.S. workers and firms operating in the country, spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.

This was Blinken’s second trip to China after a high-stakes diplomatic mission to cool U.S.-China tensions in June last year.

It is important to demonstrate that “we’re managing responsibly the most consequential relationship,” Blinken said Friday.

“I hope we can make some progress on the issues that our presidents agreed we should cooperate on, but also clarify our differences, our intent, and make very clear to each other where we stand.”