On April 20, the U.S. Department of State announced that Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on April 24-26. He will meet senior PR officials in Shanghai and Beijing to “discuss a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues” according to the announcement.
According to the announcement, key talking points are going to be: The crisis in the Middle East, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, “cross-Strait issues” (Taiwan), and the South China Sea.
The issues in the Middle East and Ukraine could possibly divest American attention away from China. Increased cooperation between the U.S. and China on these issues likely helps increase diplomatic ties and it also likely entangles China with these issues.
This comes as tensions between China and the U.S. have increased to unseen heights. China has increasingly utilized non-violent but aggressive attacks against the Philippines, a U.S. ally, as well as increasing its occupation of features in the South China Sea.
Neither the U.S. nor China wants war, and retaining stability in this area of the world is key to global economic health, and each nation’s wealth.
