US Blinken Visits China, Discusses 'Guardrails'... Also Confirms Differences on Taiwan and Other Issues (Comprehensive Report 2)

Amid ongoing tensions between the U.S. and China, the foreign ministers of both countries met in Beijing to discuss so-called "guardrails" (safety measures) to prevent their conflicts from escalating into armed clashes. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is visiting China, repeatedly emphasized the importance of communication channels and invited State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang to Washington, D.C. However, both sides also confirmed that fundamental differences remain on key issues such as Taiwan.

Secretary Blinken and Minister Qin held a nearly eight-hour "marathon meeting," including talks and a working dinner, starting at 2:35 p.m. at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.

After publicly showing a handshake in front of their national flags, the two sides immediately began the talks. The usual opening remarks before the meeting were omitted. Considering the escalating U.S.-China tensions over issues ranging from the reconnaissance balloon incident earlier this year to Taiwan and semiconductors, both sides appeared to avoid public diplomatic rhetoric. The meeting, attended by eight key officials from each side, lasted 5 hours and 30 minutes?an hour longer than scheduled?and was followed by a working dinner of about two hours starting around 8:25 p.m.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

U.S.-China High-Level Talks... Prioritizing Guardrails Discussion and Communication Restoration

The U.S. Secretary of State's visit to China is the first since Mike Pompeo in October 2018 during the Trump administration. Especially as tensions over Taiwan, semiconductors, and other issues have intensified, attention focused on whether the talks could find a breakthrough to improve bilateral relations. Secretary Blinken had originally planned to visit China in early February, but the trip was indefinitely postponed after a Chinese reconnaissance balloon entered U.S. airspace.

The foreign ministers prioritized restoring high-level U.S.-China communication to ease rising tensions during this meeting. They exchanged views on their respective positions and mutual "red lines" regarding key issues such as the escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait and discussed guardrails to prevent conflict. For the U.S., this confirmed the need to establish such guardrails amid a shift from "decoupling" China from critical industrial supply chains to "derisking."

Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said in a statement released shortly after the meeting that Secretary Blinken had "frank, substantive, and constructive conversations" with Minister Qin. Miller explained, "Secretary Blinken emphasized the importance of keeping diplomatic and broad issue communication channels open to reduce the risks of misunderstandings and miscalculations," adding, "He raised opportunities to seek cooperation not only on some concerning issues but also on shared transnational interests."

He also confirmed, "Both sides noted the importance of promoting exchanges between the peoples of the United States and China," and "Secretary Blinken invited Minister Qin to Washington, D.C. to continue the dialogue, and both sides agreed to arrange reciprocal visits at an appropriate time."

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stated, "Both sides agreed to jointly implement the important consensus reached by the two leaders at the Bali meeting last November, effectively manage differences, and promote dialogue, exchanges, and cooperation," adding that Minister Qin expressed willingness to visit the United States.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Fundamental Differences Also Confirmed

However, fundamental differences between the two sides were also reaffirmed. Secretary Blinken emphasized during the talks that the U.S. will always defend the interests and values of its people and cooperate with allies and partners to maintain a free, open, and rules-based international order. While prioritizing communication restoration, this reaffirmed the U.S. stance of "competition" in U.S.-China relations and the basic policy of rallying allies to counter China. On his way to China, Secretary Blinken also held separate phone calls with Foreign Ministers Park Jin of South Korea and their Japanese counterpart, signaling trilateral cooperation among the U.S., South Korea, and Japan.

China, in turn, urged the U.S. to fulfill its promise not to support "Taiwan independence." According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister Qin emphasized, "Currently, China-U.S. relations are at their lowest point since diplomatic ties were established," and "The Taiwan issue is the most significant and prominent risk in China-U.S. relations." He also presented China's positions and demands related to "core interests" alongside the implementation of commitments on Taiwan. China has long stressed that the U.S. must halt its hostile policies toward China, including decoupling, for bilateral relations to improve.

Ultimately, the meeting did not yield a breakthrough to change U.S.-China relations, which analysts say was expected. These fundamental differences also explain why expectations were not high on either side before the visit. Senior officials from both countries had already indicated that the talks would focus on keeping communication channels open to prevent conflicts from escalating into armed clashes and on revitalizing people-to-people exchanges.

Amanda Xiao, Senior China Analyst at the International Crisis Group, told Axios, "The fundamental issue is that they have different visions." She added, "The U.S. seeks to reduce the risks of competitive conflict by setting clearer guardrails and identifying areas for cooperation, but China does not want that. They want to clarify the risks involved," describing the atmosphere.

Will Blinken Meet Xi Jinping?

The question now is whether Secretary Blinken will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit.

Blinken is scheduled to meet Wang Yi on the last day of his visit, the 19th. There are also speculations that he might meet President Xi afterward. The Associated Press reported, "There is a possibility that Secretary Blinken will meet President Xi on the 19th." The New York Times analyzed, "It appears that President Xi will meet Secretary Blinken, and much depends on how the meetings on Sunday (18th) and Monday morning (19th) go." Former Secretary Pompeo also met President Xi during his 2018 visit to China.

If the meeting takes place, it is expected that discussions will occur about the possibility of a second U.S.-China summit coinciding with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco, California, this November. The day before, President Joe Biden said, "I hope to meet President Xi again in the coming months to talk about legitimate differences between our countries and how we can get along well."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.