MOSCOW, June 20. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to China was aimed at preventing further tensions with Beijing, Dmitry Suslov, Deputy Director of Higher School of Economics’ Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies and Valdai Club expert, told TASS.
"It was absolutely clear during the visit that the US was in a defensive situation and in the position of a petitioner because it arrived to offer apologies to China, if you please, and softened its rhetoric. In contrast, China has not softened its rhetoric towards the US," the expert pointed out.
According to him, the reason is that the US has been afraid of the consequences of a sharp deterioration of relations with China since the end of last year. The Biden administration is concerned that Beijing may opt "for a military escalation, primarily with regard to Taiwan." "It would put the United States in a losing position because it’s not ready for a war on two fronts. It is so involved in the Ukrainian conflict, which is wearing the US down in military, political and diplomatic terms, that to imagine a simultaneous war with Taiwan would mean an absolute disaster for the US," the analyst noted.
That said, Blinken had to do everything possible to prevent such developments and ensure predictability on the part of China. "It looks like the US succeeded in at least creating conditions to stabilize the confrontation with China, but not to improve relations and return to partnership. The thing to understand is that confrontation between the US and China will still be there and the US will continue to view China as its main strategic rival and pursue a policy aimed at its economic, military and political containment," the expert emphasized.
"Fundamentally, neither of the parties will change its policy. China won’t change its attitude to the Ukrainian conflict or reduce cooperation with Russia, but this was not the goal of Blinken’s visit. The goal was to make the US-China confrontation more manageable, and it seems that it has worked out," Suslov said.
The top US diplomat’s remark that Washington does not support Taiwan independence highlights Beijing’s tactical victory but the US-China standoff will continue, the expert concluded.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited China on June 18-19. The trip, initially scheduled for February, was postponed due to an incident involving a Chinese air balloon shot down by a missile in US airspace. Beijing argues that it was a weather balloon but the Washington administration insists that it was being used to collect sensitive information. This was the first China visit by a US secretary of state since October 2018.