Present affairs and overseas coverage analysts in China observed one thing moderately uncommon within the media studies of U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s arrival in Shanghai on Wednesday morning. The uncommon addition was two Chinese language characters, 邀请, which means “invitation.” Of all of the U.S. officers who’ve visited China since final summer season – together with Blinken on his June 2023 journey, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on her journeys in 2023 and earlier this month, former White Home local weather envoy John Kerry, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo – Blinken’s present go to is the one go to by a high U.S. official that was explicitly mentioned to come back “on the invitation” of a Chinese language counterpart.
Many in China aren’t happy by the change.
With Blinken in the course of his second go to to China in 9 months, analysts in China are questioning if the highest U.S. diplomacy is right here “to waste China’s time.” Whilst his aircraft touched down in Shanghai, quite a few commentaries in Chinese language media angrily questioned him being “invited” to China. Within the eyes of many commentators, Blinken is believed to be visiting to proceed the unfinished agenda from Yellen’s go to three weeks in the past – that’s, issuing a slew of calls for and threats as a part of the Biden administration’s aggressive confrontation of and navy build-up in opposition to Beijing.
Whereas Yellen’s go to targeted on “overcapacity” – a problem seen by Chinese language analysts as a brand new pretext for halting Chinese language financial progress – Blinken has seemingly been despatched to demand that Beijing halt the export of dual-use objects to Russia.
“[W]hen it involves Russia’s protection industrial base, the first contributor on this second to that’s China,” Blinken informed reporters final week after a G-7 assembly in Italy. He added, “Now, if China purports on the one hand to need good relations with Europe and different international locations, it will possibly’t then again be fueling what’s the greatest menace to European safety for the reason that finish of the Chilly Battle.”
In a provocative signed article, well-known left-wing political commentator Feng Liuhen requested: “Is Blinken coming to put his playing cards on the desk?” Citing international media studies, Feng accused Blinken of publicly threatening China earlier than the go to by saying that China’s help for Russia “could be the principle matter of his go to and that Beijing should select between pleasant relations with the West and help for Russia.” Deciphering Blinken’s menace of economic sanctions in opposition to China, Feng mentioned that the U.S. diplomat was right here to “blackmail” China.
“Whether it is actually true, then we should not entertain Blinken and let him return with out indulging in any significant dialogue,” Feng proclaimed.
Like Feng, a number of commentators in China have ridiculed Washington for funneling ever-larger portions of subtle arms to Ukraine whereas on the identical time demanding that China permit the U.S.-led sanctions to cripple Russia’s industrial capability and thus the Russian navy.
Apparently, Blinken’s go to has been declared as “invited” – not like Yellen, who visited earlier on this month – but early studies counsel he has been given a “a lot frostier reception” than the treasury secretary, particularly on Chinese language social media. None aside from Chinese language Premier Li Qiang himself famous in his opening remarks to Yellen that her go to “certainly drew plenty of consideration in society.” In contrast, expectations had been low for Blinken’s go to.
Capturing the temper, one reader commented that China “can’t count on a lot from Blinkin’s [sic] go to,” predicting “one other spherical of lecturing and threatening China of over capability or help for Russia or extra sanctions.” As an alternative, the commenter sarcastically recommended that Blinken ought to take pleasure in some Tsingtao beer and Peking duck to get one thing optimistic out of his journey.
Certainly, regardless of China welcoming the secretary of state on an “invited” go to, some Chinese language media have dominated out any breakthroughs. Why? As a result of Blinken has come armed with a listing of arduous inquiries to ask his hosts concerning European safety and China threatening neighbors within the Indo-Pacific. And Beijing is in no temper to listen to him out.
As regards the precise agenda of Blinken urging Beijing to stop its help for Russia’s industrial base or face penalties, China’s International Ministry spokesperson has already adopted an aggressive “push again” method. “The USA retains making groundless accusations over the traditional commerce and financial exchanges between China and Russia … to fan the flames or to smear others and shift the blame is not any technique to resolve the Ukraine situation,” Chinese language International Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin mentioned a day earlier than Blinken landed in Shanghai.
The opposite uncommon factor about Blinken’s present go to is that China’s International Ministry has launched a listing of “5 main targets” to give attention to throughout official talks with Blinken in Shanghai and Beijing. The semi-official, nationalist Chinese language tabloid International Occasions claimed that the aim of publicizing these “5 targets” is to place Blinken beneath strain by making it clear China is not going to “compromise on core points.” Nevertheless, the unspoken cause behind the “targets” is to pacify these at residence who’re agitated to see a steady movement of high U.S. officers into China with the only real function of “losing China’s time.”
Within the media, particularly on social media and within the Chinese language semi-official digital media, adjectives and superlatives corresponding to “hypocritical,” “nonsense,” and “scumbag” have been used – moderately unusually – so as to ridicule, embarrass, and present full disrespect to each Blinken and President Joe Biden.
Primarily based on a number of latest Chinese language op-ed columns and commentaries on the eve of and a day or two after the go to, it wasn’t troublesome to compile a listing of the explanation why the Biden administration’s “China agenda” is being dismissed because the “litany of lies.”
In the beginning, as famous above, Blinken has been accused of using a mafia-like “gangster logic” in demanding that China curtail its commerce with Russia. Chinese language analysts imagine that the U.S. goaded Russia into invading Ukraine within the first place. Now the U.S. and its European allies are supposedly determined to reverse the deteriorating place of the Ukrainian navy amid its lack of territory to Russian forces.
Apparently, a minimum of some Chinese language analysts have argued that the highest U.S. officers visiting China are helpful as a “bargaining chip” in opposition to Russia. In accordance with this argument, China desires to convey to Moscow that by sustaining regular commerce with Russia within the current circumstances, Beijing is paying an unusually excessive value – and that it have to be compensated by Russia. These analysts see a sure logic, then, in inviting Blinken, if solely to ship a message to Russia. “If Russia can perceive this gesture, it’ll naturally increase its opening to us in additional fields,” one analyst mused.
Past the Russia situation, Chinese language commentators name Blinken’s allegations of China violating human rights and interesting in genocide in opposition to Muslims Uyghurs in western Xinjiang “completely cynical” and the “lie of the century.” The U.S. is being requested to look into the mirror because the Biden administration bankrolls and politically defends the fascistic Israeli regime because it wages a genocidal conflict in Gaza.
Most of those commentators imagine that the U.S., particularly Blinken and Biden, have to be given to know that they can’t go on taking part in with China. On the one hand, U.S. officers are relentlessly persevering with with taking “punitive” actions in opposition to China; then again, they really feel that they’ll provoke China at will and be well-received in Beijing anytime they need, analysts bemoan. They predict that the aim of this go to is to “educate China a lesson” and to level fingers at China, and the U.S. is not going to make any concessions.
Thus Blinken’s go to is seen by most Chinese language analysts as a continuation of the sequence of high U.S. officers visiting Beijing with the only real agenda of telling China what to do on a sequence of worldwide points. As Professor Li Haidong of Beijing-based China International Affairs College, the nation’s main overseas coverage assume tank, run by the Chinese language International Ministry, informed Chinese language media: “We welcome U.S. officers to come back to China to boost communication. However it appears Blinken is right here to situation an ultimatum to China.
“We is not going to give in to him and won’t compromise on our core points.”