{"id":1950293,"date":"2023-06-18T09:25:03","date_gmt":"2023-06-18T13:25:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/blinken-meets-chinese-foreign-minister-in-a-rare-trip-to-beijing-amid-criticism-and-dim-hopes-for-progress\/"},"modified":"2023-06-18T09:30:39","modified_gmt":"2023-06-18T13:30:39","slug":"blinken-meets-chinese-foreign-minister-in-a-rare-trip-to-beijing-amid-criticism-and-dim-hopes-for-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/blinken-meets-chinese-foreign-minister-in-a-rare-trip-to-beijing-amid-criticism-and-dim-hopes-for-progress\/","title":{"rendered":"Blinken visits Beijing amidst criticism and low expectations for progress, meets Chinese Foreign Minister."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fblinken-meets-chinese-foreign-minister-in-a-rare-trip-to-beijing-amid-criticism-and-dim-hopes-for-progress%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1950293&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"post_content\">\n<h2>Secretary of State Antony Blinken&#8217;s Controversial Visit to China<\/h2>\n<p>Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese foreign minister Qing Gan on June 17, hours after arriving in China for a two-day visit.<\/p>\n<p>The timing of his trip, however, has been met with criticism as experts and U.S. lawmakers say that visiting China was a mistake and ill-advised.<\/p>\n<p>Blinken is the highest-level American official to set foot in China since President Joe Biden took office in 2021, and the first secretary of state to visit since 2018, when his predecessor Mike Pompeo visited China for one day.<\/p>\n<p>Qin greeted Blinken at Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing. The two had a small chat and shook hands before heading into a meeting room. None of the top diplomats made comments in front of reporters.<\/p>\n<p>Blinken\u2019s trip to Beijing marks the latest in a string of efforts by Washington to engage with Beijing, though the communist regime has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/blinken-meets-chinese-foreign-minister-in-a-rare-trip-to-beijing-amid-criticism-and-dim-hopes-for-progress\/\" title=\"Blinken visits Beijing amidst criticism and low expectations for progress, meets Chinese Foreign Minister.\">largely resisted bilateral exchanges<\/a> on the military level.<\/p>\n<p>Ahead of Blinken traveling to Beijing, U.S. officials and outside observers had already signaled low expectations for any major breakthroughs.<\/p>\n<p>The trip won\u2019t \u201cproduce any phased agreement, or specific results,\u201d Chen Lijian, a U.S-based China commentator, told The Epoch Times on June 15. He believes the cause is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which has a power structure shaped as a pyramid where all decisions ultimately come from the top leader Xi Jinping.<\/p>\n<p>Xi, meanwhile, has stepped up his effort to prepare the party\u2019s military wing and population for conflict. On May 30, Xi told officials of the party\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pinkerton-are-we-prepared-for-cyber-war\/\" title=\"PINKERTON: Are We Prepared For Cyber War?\">national security commission<\/a> that they \u201cmust be prepared for worst-case and extreme scenarios, and be ready to withstand the major test of high winds, choppy waters, and even dangerous storms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, a China navy warship came within 150 yards of colliding with an American destroyer during a Canada\u2013U.S. joint sailing mission through the Taiwan Strait, according to the U.S. military. Washington described the naval maneuver as \u201cunsafe\u201d while Beijing defended its actions by accusing \u201ccountries concerned\u201d of deliberately provoking risks.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the CCP\u2019s repeated provocations, in a phone call on June 14, Qin told Blinken that it is \u201cvery clear who is to bear responsibility\u201d for the worsening ties, adding that the United States should show respect.<\/p>\n<p>Though the communist regime posed an increasingly assertive stance, analysts suggested it has to agree to Blinken\u2019s visit to shore up relations, given its post-COVID economic recovery is losing momentum, the youth unemployment rate hit a record high, and foreign investment sentiment is declining amid the regime\u2019s regulatory crackdown.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the CCP completely falls out with the United States, or even heads to a conflict, almost all foreign investors would get out of the mainland, which is a situation that the CCP doesn\u2019t want to see,\u201d said China affairs commentator Li Linyi.<\/p>\n<p>Chen also added that the Chinese regime can\u2019t keep rising without the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Blinken is set to have a working dinner with Qin Sunday evening at the lavish complex in Beijing. He is expected to have a meeting with China\u2019s top diplomat Wang Yi on June 19.<\/p>\n<p>It remains to be seen whether he will hold talks with Xi, who on Friday met with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in Beijing.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5338202\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/06\/16\/id5338202-xi-and-gates-1200x901.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Bill Gates (L) meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on June 16, 2023. (Yin Bogu\/Xinhua via AP)<\/figure>\n<p>Blinken had previously said that his China trip was aimed at building on the \u201cproductive discussion\u201d President Joe Biden and Xi had in November, when the two leaders met on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.<\/p>\n<p>However, his originally scheduled trip to China in February was postponed after the discovery of a Chinese surveillance balloon flying over several states, before it was shot down by the U.S. military. At the time, Blinken said the incident \u201ccreated the conditions that undermine the purpose of the trip.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The spy balloon is not the only recent incident exposing China\u2019s aggression against the United States. About a week before Blinken landed in China, the Biden administration revealed that China has been operating a base with intelligence-collecting capabilities in Cuba.<\/p>\n<p>Several Republican lawmakers have issued statements questioning why Blinken would choose to visit now.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInstead of condemning the blatantly aggressive behaviors of the Chinese Communist Party, Secretary Blinken announced that he will legitimize the CCP\u2019s continued subversion of our sovereignty with an upcoming official visit,\u201d said House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) on June 16. \u201cSecretary Blinken and the Biden Administration must immediately cease their weak and desperate pursuit of a \u2018thaw\u2019 in relations with the CCP.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said on June 17 that the Biden administration shouldn\u2019t try to appease China given the communist regime\u2019s intentions against the United States.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cXi Jinping has already made his priorities crystal clear: he wants to dominate the U.S., and a meeting will only give his party more ammunition to embarrass us on the world stage,\u201d Blackburn said. \u201cPresident Biden should instead focus on building a strong military that can compete with the CCP\u2019s quest for global domination.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5312514\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/06\/05\/id5312514-Taiwan-Strait-AP23156128057444-1200x727.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> A Chinese navy ship conducts what U.S. officials called an \u201cunsafe\u201d maneuver, cutting sharply across the path of a U.S. destroyer in the Taiwan Strait, on June 3, 2023. (Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Andre T. Richard\/U.S. Navy via AP)<\/figure>\n<p>Days before Blinken left for China, the State Department\u2019s assistant secretary Daniel Kritenbrink told reporters that \u201cWe\u2019re not going to Beijing with the intent of having some sort of breakthrough or transformation in the way that we deal with one another.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is not a visit in which I would anticipate a long list of deliverables coming out of it,\u201d Kritenbrink added.<\/p>\n<p>House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) called on Blinken to impose sanctions on CCP officials.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Biden administration is holding back U.S. national security actions to chase fruitless talks with the CCP,\u201d McCaul said on June 14. \u201cSecretary Blinken must move forward sanctions and export controls and prioritize the protection of American interests during discussions with CCP officials.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Position of Weakness\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Alex Gray, a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council and former chief of staff of the National Security Council, questioned why Blinken would want to meet with Chinese officials now, given China\u2019s continued egregious behaviors, such as the incident involving the Chinese spy balloon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRight now, the United States, I think, is reasonably perceived by Beijing as operating from a position of weakness,\u201d Gray told NTD, on June 16.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe reason I\u2019m so concerned about that is President Biden and Secretary Blinken have continuously acted as if a meeting with Xi Jinping or with whoever the Chinese counterpart is, is the most important thing on their agenda,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt doesn\u2019t make sense to have the United States appearing to be begging for an audience with the General Secretary of the Communist Party,\u201d Gray added, referring to one of Xi\u2019s official titles.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5340484\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/06\/18\/id5340484-GettyImages-1258784423-1200x773.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (C) greets China\u2019s Foreign Minister Qin Gang (R) ahead of a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on June 18, 2023. (Leah Millis \/ POOL \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/figure>\n<p>Gray said he thought the recent revelation of China\u2019s base in Cuba would scuffle talks between the two countries. The fact that it didn\u2019t is important, he added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think, the reality is, the Biden administration is subordinate to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-rep-rogers-every-barrel-of-russian-oil-we-buy-has-ukrainian-blood-on-it\/\" title=\"GOP Rep. Rogers: Every Barrel of Russian Oil We Buy Has 'Ukrainian Blood on It'\">climate change lobby<\/a> in the Democratic Party, who view Beijing not from a strategic or a military or an economic lens, but from a climate change lens,\u201d Gray said.<\/p>\n<p>Biden\u2019s climate envoy John Kerry has said that the United States needs China in the fight against climate change. However, some experts have spoken out about how China actually has no intention of helping the West on this issue.<\/p>\n<p>As for Gates\u2019 visit to China, Gray said it is important to see there is a conflict\u2014how Microsoft continues to do business with China while a<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Secretary of State Antony Blinken faced criticism for meeting Chinese foreign minister Qing Gan on June 17, shortly after arriving in China. Experts and U.S. lawmakers deemed the timing of his visit a mistake and ill-advised. Nevertheless, Blinken remains the highest-ranking American official engaging with China.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2133,"featured_media":1950294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[4290,4636,4117,7375,8427,5542,3666,8521,7308,11145],"class_list":["post-1950293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times","tag-beijing","tag-blinken","tag-chinese","tag-criticism","tag-expectations","tag-foreign","tag-meets","tag-minister","tag-progress","tag-visits"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1950293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2133"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1950293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1950293\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1950294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1950293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1950293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1950293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}