When It Comes to US-China Talks, Something "Vital" Is Still Missing

When It Comes to US-China Talks, Something “Vital” Is Still Missing

WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 16: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends a joint news conference with Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan at the U.S. Department of State on June 16, 2023 in Washington, DC. Blinken is scheduled to travel to Beijing this weekend in his first trip to China during the Biden administration. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Posted: June 19th, 2023

CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING — A rare series of diplomatic overtures in Beijing were absent at least one “absolutely vital” ingredient, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week, which could help better stabilize relations between the world’s two largest economies.

Following his conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and arguably the more substantive talks with his counterpart, Qin Gang, Blinken said Chinese leadership was not quite ready to restart military-to-military contacts — something that Washington has long viewed as a critical tool in avoiding a deadly miscalculation in the Taiwan strait, a region where China recently staged one of its biggest military drills on record.

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