US Secretary of State Antony Blinken used a more than five-hour meeting he had with Chinese Chancellor Wang Yi to once again warn Beijing about its alignment with Russia amid the Ukraine War.
The heads of diplomacy of the two powers met this Saturday (9), in Indonesia, on the sidelines of an event for the chancellors of the G20. Communiqués from both sides released after the meeting defined it as sincere and constructive, but the tone used by Blinken to reporters was a little different – although he defended the maintenance of dialogue channels.
“I once again expressed the fact that we are concerned about China’s alignment with Russia,” he said. “I tried to show that this is a moment when we all have to stand up to condemn Moscow’s aggression.”
Blinken also refuted to journalists Beijing’s claim that its position is one of neutrality, as the country has shown support and “amplified Russian propaganda”. “It’s hard to stay neutral when it comes to this aggression. There’s a clear aggressor and there’s a clear victim,” he said.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry’s statement highlighted terms such as reciprocity and mutual benefit and did not elaborate on what was discussed in the talks on “the Ukrainian issue”. Wang, however, made it clear that relations between the two countries are at a delicate moment. “Many people believe that the US is going through a period of increasing Sinophobia,” he said.
The state-run newspaper Global Times, generally critical of Washington, reported that Beijing’s diplomacy “highlighted the consensus between the parties to avoid an escalation of confrontation”.
The meeting between Blinken and Wang served, according to the version previously presented by US officials, to maintain stable relations between the two countries, which are fighting a kind of Cold War 2.0 – with tensions even more strained since Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin sealed, shortly before the invasion of Ukraine, an “unlimited partnership”.
Washington has since issued warnings that if this stance leads to Chinese military support for Russian action in the neighboring country, sanctions such as those imposed on Moscow by the West could be the way to go.
In recent weeks, the US has returned to a closer approach to issues involving Beijing, with a series of bilateral meetings. There is still the expectation that President Joe Biden can meet with leader Xi Jinping at the official G20 meeting in November – according to Blinken said in Indonesia, a conversation between the two could take place soon.
The US Secretary of State also said that he expressed to Wang “deep concern about Beijing’s increasingly provocative rhetoric and activities towards Taiwan”. The topic is another one that has generated sparks between the parties, as China considers the autonomous island part of its territory.
To journalists Blinken also commented on the refusal to meet Russian Chancellor Sergei Lavrov in Indonesia. “The problem is that we see no signs that Russia, at this point in time, is prepared to engage in meaningful diplomacy.”
The G20 foreign ministers’ meeting was marketed by an effort by the US and its Western allies to increase pressure on Moscow to end the Ukrainian War. The meeting, which was initially supposed to discuss the post-Covid economic recovery, was dominated by debates around the conflict, and even the traditional group photo of the leaders present was cancelled.
