Blinken to visit China, aim for improved communication amid military expansion.

WASHINGTON—Secretary of State Antony Blinken is embarking on a crucial journey to China this week to meet with Chinese communist leadership, the State Department has confirmed.

Blinken will engage in discussions with senior Chinese officials during a series of meetings in Beijing on June 18 and 19. The aim is to reestablish regular communications between the two powers, as stated in a State Department announcement.

This visit is part of a larger effort by the administration to establish boundaries in the increasingly bitter competition between the two nations, according to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

“Intense competition requires intense and tough diplomacy to ensure that competition does not veer into confrontation or conflict, and that’s what we intend for this visit,” Miller emphasized during a June 14 press briefing.

Miller outlined three broad objectives that Blinken aims to achieve in Beijing: reestablishing normal communications, championing U.S. values and interests, and identifying potential avenues for mutual cooperation.

US Seeks to Manage China Competition Without Conflict

This visit to China marks Blinken’s first as the United States’ top diplomat, as well as the first time a secretary of state has traveled to Beijing since 2018.

Blinken’s previous plans to visit China earlier in the year were canceled when a Chinese spy balloon was discovered traversing over the continental United States, collecting information on three military sites associated with the U.S. nuclear program.

Since then, the Biden administration has consistently expressed its commitment to engage with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) through this trip.

“We thought it was important that there be a direct channel of communication between our two countries,” Miller explained.

“Obviously, we have a competitive relationship with China … but it’s important as two of the world’s great powers that we have the ability to directly communicate with each other so that competition doesn’t veer into conflict.”

The CCP, which governs China as a single-party state, has deliberately reduced communications with the United States over the past year and a half.

This communications blackout has primarily affected military-to-military communications, which U.S. leadership considers crucial for managing Sino-American competition peacefully and avoiding catastrophic miscommunication.

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner stated last month that the CCP is refusing virtually all communications with the U.S. military, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, regional commanders, and even civilian Department of Defense employees.

The Biden administration is now making efforts to bring China back to the table, concerned that the lack of communication could lead to a disastrous misunderstanding amid increasingly tense military encounters in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea.

To that end, Blinken recently held a phone call with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang on June 13. During the call, Blinken and Qin emphasized the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to avoid miscalculations and conflict.

Blinken also conveyed that the United States would utilize diplomatic engagements to address areas of concern and explore opportunities for cooperation.

US Acknowledges Engagement Will Not Change CCP

While the Biden administration continues to engage in meaningful dialogue with the CCP, officials have hinted at the understanding that traditional engagement with the regime has proven ineffective, and new approaches will be necessary to effectively manage the relationship.

In simple terms, the administration now recognizes that economic and diplomatic engagement with the CCP will not bring about reform, according to National Security Council Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell during a June 14 press call.

“We’re clear-eyed about [China],” Campbell stated. “We know efforts to shape or reform China over several decades have failed. And we expect China to remain a major player on the world stage for the rest of our lifetimes.

“We are in competition with China, but we do not seek conflict, confrontation, or a new Cold War. We are for managing the competition responsibly.”

Campbell further emphasized that the United States would “push back” against CCP attempts to provoke a crisis in the Taiwan Strait or elsewhere, but stressed that open communications between the two nations were crucial to prevent unnecessary escalations.

“Intense competition requires intense diplomacy if we’re going to manage tensions,” Campbell concluded. “That is the only way to clear up misperceptions, to signal, to communicate, and to work together where and when our interests align.