Blinken is in China.
As the U.S. Secretary of State, Blinken's visit to China is definitely at a higher level than Yellen's visit to China, and there will be more talks between China and the United States. However, at present, the official press release has not yet come out, and we are not yet clear about what the two sides have discussed, and we cannot talk nonsense.
However, you may not have noticed that in fact, before Blinken's visit to China, the United States had already given a threat in advance, and its attitude was very strong. It can be said that the United States did its homework, and before Blinken's visit to China, it "made cards in the air" in advance, made a few so-called bargaining chips, and then asked Blinken to negotiate with China.
Let me give you a brief list of what the United States has done in the past period from Yellen's return to China to Blinken's visit to China. First of all, in the middle of this month, the U.S. Department of Commerce put six Chinese entities on the control list for sanctions. The reason given is that it depends on national security, as well as US foreign policy. The translation is, "No reason, I'm just going to sanction you."
After that, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) made another effort. Launched a "Section 301 investigation" specifically targeting China's maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding industries. The so-called "Section 301 investigation" means that the United States, in accordance with Article 301 of the National Trade Law, has determined that China has unreasonable, unfair, and non-compliant trade practices in these areas. The United States cannot stand it and must intervene in the investigation.
This act of the United States is a typical politicization of economic and trade issues. Moreover, the United States is full of fairness and rules, but it directly ignores the order of international trade. This is not over, and then Biden casually increased the tariffs on steel and aluminum to China by 3 times, further increasing tariff barriers to China. The United States has played its cards in international trade several times, and there is basically no reason at all.
And on the military and geopolitical front, the United States is not stopping. Led by the United States, Japan, the Philippines, and Australia held joint military exercises in the South China Sea. The United States clearly wants to draw its allies into the situation in the South China Sea and strengthen the Philippines' ties with its allies. Then, the United States began deploying intermediate-range missiles in the Philippines, naming names in response to the Chinese threat.
And now, while Blinken is visiting China, U.S. warships are still conducting annual military exercises with the Philippines. From international economy and trade to geopolitics, the United States can be said to do everything. What the United States is trying to do is that Blinken's visit to China will allow him to hold more bargaining chips and force China to compromise and make concessions on key issues.
In the worst-case scenario, it cannot be ruled out that the United States wants to force China to pay 4 trillion yuan to save the United States from fire and water, as it did in 2008. On the other hand, the situation in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Blinken has to talk about it. In the Middle East, the United States alone is no longer able to resolve complex conflict situations. Therefore, the United States must rely on China's diplomatic resources to control the situation.
On the battlefield of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the purpose of the United States is clearer, and long before Blinken's visit to China, the White House released a message hoping to stop trade between China and Russia. Because in the eyes of the United States, as long as China's industrial products continue to flow into Russia, no matter how much money it spends and no matter how much military aid it gives, Ukraine will not be able to win this conflict.
All in all, the above is the underlying logic of Blinken's visit to China. China does welcome Blinken's visit to China, but that does not mean that China will agree to what the United States wants. Again, times have changed, and under today's Sino-US game, there is no reason for China to save the United States again.