Talking to China Is a Necessity, Not a Choice
White House officials shouldn’t let Beijing’s prickliness deter them from pursuing dialogue that’s manifestly in US interests.
If Austin can’t deliver the message, Blinken must.
Photographer: Win McNamee/Getty Images
In recent weeks, China has appeared rather ambivalent about engagement with the US, resisting military-to-military talks and harassing US vessels even as it prepares to welcome Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing. If Chinese leaders are skeptical of the value of dialogue, however, the US should not be.
Efforts to stabilize relations between the two superpowers have made halting progress since the furor over a Chinese spy balloon in February. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and China’s top-ranking diplomat Wang Yi held two days of “constructive” meetings in Vienna last month. That opened the door for Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and trade czar Katherine Tai to sit down with China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in the US, and for mid-ranking American officials to visit Beijing. CIA Director Bill Burns, a respected troubleshooter, made his own quiet trip to the Chinese capital in May.