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By Chloe Mayer
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Fraught U.S.-China relations took a further knock over the weekend when China reportedly refused to resume communication between its armed forces and the American military.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken had flown to China for talks, where he received a somewhat muted greeting, with no red carpet and just a handful of officials to welcome him at the airport—which some commentators claimed was a deliberate snub by the Chinese authorities. But news agency Reuters noted he later shook hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People, a grand venue usually reserved for welcoming heads of state.
Blinken wrapped up his two-day visit to Beijing with a press conference on Monday describing his series of meetings as a "robust conversation" about a range of global issues. He said while parts of the talks were "constructive," other areas of debate showed there is still "work to do." And he confirmed that military-to-military co-operation was still off the table.
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Blinken's visit made him the first secretary of state to visit China in five years amid mutual suspicion between the two countries. The politician was initially due to visit in February, but his trip was postponed by a diplomatic furor when the U.S. accused China of flying a spy balloon over American airspace. China's designs on Taiwan and accusations of human rights abuses are also responsible for much of the frostiness in the relationship, while American fears that China may challenge its technological or trade interests have also played a role.
During his visit, Blinken tweeted on Sunday: "Today, I met with People's Republic of China State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Beijing and discussed how we can responsibly manage the relationship between our two countries through open channels of communication."
But reporters at the subsequent press conference on Monday revealed that Blinken had confirmed military communication channels would in fact remain shut down for now.
Axios reporter Bethany Allen tweeted: "Blinken says China did not agree to set up a crisis military-to-military communications channel, which was one of the biggest hopes for the U.S. visit." She quoted Blinken as saying: "It's absolutely vital that we have these kinds of communications, military to military. That imperative was only underscored by recent incidents that we saw in the air and on the seas." The lines of communication were reportedly cut off following then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in 2022, which enraged China.
While the BBC's China correspondent, Stephen McDonell, reported that the U.S. will continue to lobby for the reinstatement of communication. "Antony Blinken said that #China had not agreed to resume military to military co-operation mechanisms with the #US. He said this was something which needed to be worked on in the future," he tweeted.
Beijing's reluctance to engage in regular military-to-military talks with Washington has alarmed China's neighbors, according to analysis by Reuters.
There appear to have been no developments relating to Taiwan, with China's top diplomat Wang Yi stating: "China has no room for compromise or concessions."
For his part, Blinken reiterated that the U.S. does not wish to change the status quo, a complicated arrangement in which Taiwan has its own government, but is viewed as part of Chinese territory by Beijing. The U.S. officially recognizes Taiwan as part of China, but has also guaranteed to support it as necessary for its self-defense.
The two sides also discussed the Russian war against Ukraine, and Blinken "made clear that the United States will work with its allies and partners to advance our vision for a world that is free, open, and upholds the rules-based international order," according to a statement later released by his department. The U.S. has been sending military aid to Ukraine since the invasion last February, and has previously accused China of aiding Russia.
Nevertheless, Xi suggested that some progress had been made in some areas of the talks, although he did not elaborate on exactly what had been achieved. "The two sides have also made progress and reached the agreement on some specific issues. This is very good," Xi said. He added that he "hopes to see a sound and steady China-U.S. relationship" and believes that the two countries "can overcome various difficulties."
And while there appear to have been no key breakthroughs, some analysts have suggested the meeting was successful in many respects. "China's messaging has been pretty positive," said Wu Xinbo, a professor and director at the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai. "China showed that it still hopes to work with the U.S. to stabilize and improve relations. I think that while China is not optimistic about Sino-US relations, it has not given up hope either."
A statement posted by spokesperson Matthew Miller on the U.S. State Department's website concluded: "Both sides agreed on follow-on senior engagements in Washington and Beijing to continue open lines of communication."
Newsweek has reached out to the U.S. State Department by email for further information and is attempting to seek comment from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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