US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s upcoming visit to China is being seen in some diplomatic quarters of the world as an attempt by both sides to cool tensions, but India does not expect any improvement in ties between Washington and Beijing following this top diplomatic exchange. However, New Delhi will keep a close watch on Blinken’s visit and his meetings with top Chinese officials.
Diplomatic sources told The Daily Guardian that Blinken’s visit to Beijing is important as it is coming just days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington, where he will have a bilateral meeting with President Joe Biden. “As China’s belligerence and aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific and other regions will figure prominently during Modi-Biden talks, Blinken’s engagements in Beijing will be an important event to watch out for,” diplomatic officials, who are following the developments in Beijing and Washington, told The Daily Guardian. “Every single detail related to the visit will matter in view of PM Modi’s engagement in the US,” they added.
The officials further said that Blinken should make it a point to give a strong and meaningful message to his Chinese counterpart regarding Beijing’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific. “India wants the US minister to voice concern over China’s growing aggressive behaviour in violation of international laws,” diplomats said, adding, “Blinken must apprise the Chinese side of the strong feelings that the international community has against its acts of undermining the sovereignty of other countries, including India.” “Our envoys and diplomats have been alerted in Washington and Beijing to share details about Blinken’s upcoming meetings with Chinese officials,” said sources. “The updates and details will be quite important in view of PM Modi’s upcoming talks with Biden in Washington, where he will be on a state visit from June 21,” said officials.
US Secretary of State Blinken will travel to China next week for long-delayed talks “aimed at stabilising tense relations,” and a US official said he is expected to be there on June 18.
In February, Washington’s top diplomat scrapped a planned trip to Beijing, which would have been the first by a US Secretary of State in five years, over a suspected Chinese spy balloon that flew over the United States. Diplomatic sources said that nothing significant is expected to come out of Blinken’s visit in terms of a thaw in US-China ties. “Blinken will visit China to talk for the sake of talking. I think his visit will be pointless,” said a diplomat. Other countries are also keeping a close eye on this development, with Singapore renewing calls for China and the US to cool tensions, warning of “great costs and hardships across the world” if these feuding global powers do not step back from the brink.