In the early days of the Biden administration, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the US would only engage in talks with China if they produced “tangible results” in resolving disputes between the two strategic rivals . However, two and a half years later, the approach seems to have changed.
Since the beginning of the summer, the administration has begun a largely unilateral effort to engage with Beijing, establishing task forces and sending three cabinet-level officials and its top climate envoy to Beijing. That strategy, designed in part to mend a relationship that had deteriorated to a dangerous level earlier this year after the U.S. intercepted a Chinese spy balloon, could pave the way for a meeting between President American Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in November, their first in a year.
The main goal is to establish channels of communication and prevent any escalation in conflict, according to a senior official in the Biden administration. However, critics argue that this approach carries its own risk: talks and working groups could distract from and potentially delay sanctions, export controls and competition.
China presents a formidable diplomatic challenge to the United States. The Biden administration aims to counter China’s growing military power without instigating a conflict and roll back what it perceives as unfair trade practices without triggering a full-blown trade war.
Officials maintain that they are implementing strict measures when necessary, while emphasizing that the US is open to dialogue to maintain stable relations. They highlight the high-tech sector, where the US has imposed broad restrictions on the export of semiconductors and bans on US investment in certain Chinese technology companies, while offering new incentives for companies to expand in the United States.
However, the flurry of visits by US officials to China, in part aimed at setting up a meeting between Biden and Xi at November’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ summit in San Francisco, has been met with criticism from some quarters and Republicans in Congress, who argue for stricter reciprocity as a more prudent starting point.
Administration officials concede that China may interpret the U.S. push to participate as an opportunity to weaken or slow down Washington’s policies targeting China, particularly in strategic industries such as semiconductors. However, they deny that this is happening, and point to new fentanyl-related sanctions in China as evidence that Beijing is not getting a free pass.
Engagement with China, while necessary, will rarely yield immediate results, diplomats say. A senior State Department official noted that Blinken’s June visit to Beijing, the first high-level engagement since the spy balloon incident in February, helped reopen diplomatic channels, though not it has resulted in tangible progress on issues such as the restoration of the military. -military communications, curbing fentanyl and reducing tensions in the South China Sea. Despite the difficulties, both sides believe that diplomacy is vitally important.
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