US Secretary of State Blinken and China’s Wang Yi met in Munich

Chinese state media also reported on the “informal meeting” between Blinken and Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference. The meeting took place at the request of the United States, the state television broadcaster CGTN reported. Wang Yi called on the US to “face and repair the damage caused by the indiscriminate use of force in China-US relations.” After the balloon incident, Blinken actually had one for early February planned trip to Beijing canceled at short notice.

In his speech at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday morning, Wang Yi sharply criticized the US for shooting down the balloon. The politician repeated the line of the Chinese government: It was an unmanned aerial vehicle that was of a civilian nature. It “accidentally and unintentionally” veered off course, according to Wang Yi. The launch of the balloon was an “absurd and hysterical reaction”.

He accused the United States of merely wanting to distract from domestic political problems. “This is a 100 percent abuse of the use of force,” Wang Yi said. “It’s a violation of international rules.”

Washington’s two-pronged strategy

Until the end, it was apparently not clear whether the two politicians would even meet at the Munich Security Conference. Blinken and Wang Yi’s short-notice meeting underscores the US government’s two-pronged strategy.

On the one hand, Washington wants to keep the diplomatic channels to China open: “We are not looking for a new Cold War,” emphasized US President Joe Biden last week. The meeting at the Munich Security Conference can be understood as a preliminary stage for further dialogue. Biden had announced that he wanted to call Chinese head of state and party leader Xi Jinping as soon as possible, it would be the first conversation after the American launch of the balloon.

At the same time, the US wants to draw clear borders with China if it sees its national security threatened. Biden was under immense pressure because of the incident. In recent weeks, the US government has been discussing joint action against Chinese espionage with around 40 unspecified “international partners”.

The United States had previously stated that China had used spy balloons over other continents in the past, including Europe. Beijing rejects the allegations and spoke of a “weather balloon”. The recovery of the rubble in the USA has now been completed and is being analyzed by the FBI. The US military shot down three other, smaller flying objects in February, about which the White House has so far provided more detailed information.

relationship still strained

Despite the contact at the Munich Security Conference, the relationship between the two economic giants remains heavily strained. According to the US State Department, there have been “no talks about a new date” for Blinken’s visit to Beijing. John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council in the White House, spoke before the meeting between Blinken and Wang of a “real, certainly very significant and tangible security threat to the United States”.

>>> Read more: China’s top foreign policymaker accuses the United States of breaking international rules

There are “still tensions, especially after the spy balloon,” he explained. “We do not believe that now is the right time for Foreign Minister Blinken to travel to Beijing.” Nevertheless, the following applies: “The lines for diplomatic talks are open”. Kirby acknowledged that contact between the armed forces of the two world powers was limited. “Unfortunately, the military lines are not open, even if we would like to see that changed.”

A visit by former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi to the self-governing island of Taiwan, which China claims as its territory, was condemned in Beijing as an affront. Subsequently, parts of communications with the United States were frozen. In recent months, the US government has increasingly warned of a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

confrontation increases

Biden actually promised at the beginning of his term that he would strive for a pragmatic partnership with Beijing. The US President wants to work with China on climate policy or on the North Korean conflict. In October, Biden and Xi met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali.

But instead, confrontations between the two economic giants increased. Biden is imposing increasingly tough tech restrictions on Chinese companies. Last year, the US government passed even stricter export controls for the chip industry. Behind the move is the assumption that China will also use sophisticated US chips for military purposes, such as weapons and military logistics.

The United States also fears China’s influence in connection with the Ukraine war. Before the Munich Security Conference, Blinken’s State Secretary Karen Donfried warned against a “no-limits partnership” between Russia and China. “If we saw China providing material support to Russia in its war against Ukraine, it would fundamentally change our relationship with China and have significant consequences,” she said. The US apparently considers such Sino-Russian cooperation to be a concrete threat. “I warned China not to provide material support to Russia,” Blinken said after meeting Wang Yi.

US Vice President Kamala Harris had previously made a similar-sounding threat against China on the stage of the Munich Security Conference. She warned Beijing against supporting Moscow. Any steps taken by China in this direction would “reward aggression, continue killing and further undermine a rules-based order,” Harris said in Munich on Saturday. “We are concerned that Beijing has deepened its ties with Moscow since the beginning of the war.”

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