Black smoke after the first attempts of thaw Between United States e Chinese. Today, June 18, was the long-awaited day of the meeting between the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinkand the Chinese Foreign Minister, Qin Gangwhich could have represented a first step towards the resolution of disputes between the two countries, with consequences on dossiers of primary importance in the field of security, from Taiwan all’Ukraine. But the 6-hour visit by the head of US diplomacy, the highest-level since his predecessor in 2018, and the first of this magnitude under the Biden administration, does not seem to have borne fruit. In fact, if the US State Department spoke of “frank”, “substantive” and “constructive” talkswith Blinken emphasizing the importance of diplomacy and maintaining open channels of communication on the full range of issues to reduce the risk of misperception and miscalculation,” the Beijing Foreign Ministry comment was frosty: the relationships are at its “lowest point” since 1979when the two countries officially started diplomatic relations at the embassy level.
However, one hope is left open by the fact that the secretary of state has invited his counterpart for another meeting at Washington and that this has accepted. The same is true if one listens to the motivation given by the Chinese establishment to the initial declarations: in fact, they explained that this situation “does not comply with the fundamental interests of the two peoplesnor does it meet the common expectations of the international community”, recalling that China’s policy towards the United States has “always maintained continuity and stability and is fundamentally based on the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence e beneficial cooperation for everyone”. For this reason, the minister reiterated, Beijing is committed “to building stable, predictable and constructive Sino-American relations. It is hoped that the US side supports an objective and rational understanding of China,” meets it “halfway, maintains the political foundations of bilateral relations, and handles unexpected incidents calmly, professionally, and rationally.”
But the points to be clarified and the distances to be filled remain many. However, the most difficult differences to overcome concern the idea of the future of the two leaders, Joe Biden e Xi Jinping. On the one hand there is China, an ever-growing power that aspires to a new world order that exceeds the unipolar system current who sees the United States as hegemonic power. On the other, in fact, precisely the USA that they want to preserve the status quo, stemming the rise of Beijing and other emerging countries. A vision of the future that is difficult to reconcile, so much so that the points of contact can perhaps be found in the individual dossiers.
The first on Beijing’s agenda is certainly that of Taiwan. The tension between the two countries has risen dramatically in recent years: there has been the support of Beijing a Moscawhile US and block Nato they gave full support to the Ukrainian cause, not forgetting the shooting down of Chinese spy balloons over American skies. All episodes that have often led Washington to conduct provocative actions in the Strait of Taiwantrue raw nerve of the People’s Republic which does not accept meddling in the clash with the executive in Taipei with autonomist aspirations. The “One China” principle he is a red line for Beijing and was also married in the past by the United States. Because of this Xi Jinping and his entourage have repeatedly called America to respect him. Even Blinken, on the sidelines of the meeting, explained that Minister Qin Gang explained China’s position and formulated clear requests “on the question of Taiwan and on China’s fundamental interests and main concerns. The Taiwan issue is the focus of China’s fundamental interests, the most important issue in Sino-US relations, and the most important risk.”
Then there is the Ukrainian question. Here the meeting points appear greater. If on the one hand Beijing has promised one “friendship without limits” in Moscow, it is also true that this does not translate into a true alliance, least of all from a military point of view. Not surprisingly, the People’s Republic has never, at least formally, supplied weapon systems to the army Vladimir Putin, but limited itself to guaranteeing the purchase of enormous quantities of gas (at a good price) from the Federation, thus supporting its economy. But the Dragon he also knows that a break with the so-called Western bloc is not a practicable path: with it he shares what are by far the most fruitful commercial exchanges which should experience further strengthening as the project of the Belt and Road Initiative. Support for Moscow is only the latest weapon with which Beijing tries to corner Washington, counting on the will of the Kremlin to undermine the unipolar world order. But China is not willing to sacrifice business in the name of Moscow.