From April 24 to April 26, 2024, at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited China.
First, from the perspective of the past, Blinken's visit to China is just a nod to it. The content of the phone call between the Chinese and US heads of state on the evening of April 11 included that after the two heads of state reached some framework agreements, US Treasury Secretary Yellen and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken should be arranged to visit China immediately. Although the Chinese Foreign Ministry used the wording "at the invitation of Foreign Minister Wang Yi" when the Chinese Foreign Ministry reported on Blinken's visit to China, this is just a face-saving gesture by China to the United States, and in fact, Blinken's visit was arranged by the Chinese and American heads of state. Therefore, although Blinken's visit to China lasted for three days, China's positioning of this visit is a work visit, and more of an action to fulfill the consensus of the Chinese and American heads of state. In June last year, when Sino-US relations were in a very dangerous situation due to the "balloon incident", Blinken's visit to China as the head of foreign affairs of the US State Department actually had the effect of mending the relationship between the two countries, but this visit was different from the previous ones. This time, the heads of state of China and the United States have set up the stage, and now they are just letting Blinken sing, and they will come, and Blinken should not think about getting enough benefits from China, just go back and make the difference.
Second, from the perspective of looking at and looking at it, in fact, China's arrangements for Blinken are the same as those for US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Don't fly directly to Beijing, the capital of China, to negotiate with people from all walks of life, and don't get off the plane and get into a state of intense work, but first go to China's major regional cities to meet with ordinary Chinese people, listen to China's voice, and then come to Beijing. From China's point of view, China is a big country, and Blinken has to go to some major cities to understand China's public sentiment and public opinion, understand the operating conditions of American companies in these cities, and listen to the real voice. We must not be distorted or distorted by the US media, and we must keep our ears open and listen carefully to the real voice, so as to provide a more accurate basis for the US China policy. This is the practice that has been formed between China and the United States when arranging trips for American personnel to China, and Blinken is no exception, Blinken first went to NYU Shanghai and then met with the leaders of Shanghai, and Blinken also learned enough information.
On April 25, Blinken traveled to Beijing again, and in the process of traveling from Shanghai to Beijing, Blinken also saw the vitality of Shanghai, China's most modern frontier city. At this time, China happened to be holding a Navy Day, and China's advanced guided missile destroyer was stopped at the Bund, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken happened to be arranged to go to Yu Garden to take the opportunity to see the scenery of Yu Garden. When Blinken took a video facing the Bund, it is estimated that someone around him would remind him that under the Oriental Pearl, there is an advanced Chinese missile destroyer. Blinken felt the vitality of China through his eyes and ears, and only after Blinken fully appreciated the local customs of China did he go to Beijing for formal talks. This is also the so-called "see everything", Blinken can also understand the real thoughts of the Chinese people, do not only rely on their own speculation to wantonly smear China, if you do not respect the right of the Chinese people to develop, do not see the powerful power shown by China's progress, just want to talk to China as a "teacher", can only say that Blinken miscalculated.
Third, from the perspective of talks, in fact, the US side also knows that it is basically just a dream to hope that Blinken's visit to China will reverse China's policy toward the United States and change the current Sino-US relations. Yellen and Blinken's successive visits to China, followed by other senior US officials to visit China, are undoubtedly to send a strong message to the outside world. The United States wants to reach a bottom-line consensus with China, and the two sides can compete in all directions, and even engage in fierce confrontation in some areas, but China must not make a dead hand, the United States does not seek a cold war with China, nor does it seek a conflict with China, but China must also abide by the commitments of the United States. Yellen and Blinken have visited China one after another in an attempt to strengthen China's understanding through such frequent visits, and then install guardrails for the development of China-US relations. Therefore, in the course of the meeting between the two sides, whether it is the need for the two sides to work together in the face of regional issues or differences on the most acute issues in Sino-US economic and trade relations, the United States also knows that it cannot shake China's determination, and it is impossible for China to get the United States to change its current erroneous China policy. Therefore, the two sides have basically reached a consensus on Sino-US relations, which are in fact "coopetition and cooperation relations," and the so-called "coopetition and cooperation relations" means that the two sides have both competition and cooperation. After all, both China and the United States are globally influential countries, and as China's leaders told U.S. President Joe Biden, China and the United States are so big that they can't afford not to deal with each other. Judging from the results of Blinken's three-day visit to China, on the whole, it is still the same sentence, Blinken has come and gone, watched and watched, talked and discussed, and can go back to make a difference.