US-China relations were at an all-time low even before top US diplomat Anthony Blanken postponed a visit to Beijing.
How little became painfully clear when, the day before his departure, an apparently Chinese spy balloon over the state of Montana ended the tension he was trying to address.
Ultimately, the Chinese Foreign Ministry claimed that the unmanned aircraft was used for weather research and had blown off course.
It was regrettably suggested that Beijing did not want the incident to affect the Secretary of State’s visit – the first of its kind in five years.
But the damage was done.
Hours after China’s apology, the US State Department canceled the visit.
Given how wide the rift had become, the fact that the trip was happening in the first place was cause for celebration.
But what is left now is the feeling of a huge missed opportunity.
All along, American officials made it clear that it is not about achievements. It was being talked about.
Mr Blanken “wants to avoid the competition devolving into conflict”.
“One of the ways you do that is to make sure you have good lines of communication,” he said in a speech last month, calling for “putting some guard in the relationship.”
This means reestablishing regular contacts and establishing working rules.
“I think the goal was basically to speed up the Cold War, and thereby avoid the Cuban missile crisis,” says Judd Blanchett, a China expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
It has not been an easy journey for the world’s two largest economies.
The Trump-era trade war, tensions over Taiwan and rising China under Xi Jinping have derailed relations in recent years. And it fell further because China refused to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
This was followed by a meeting between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in November.
Both leaders expressed a desire to avoid conflict and turned down the heat of their rhetoric.
And Mr. Blanken wanted to build on that.
Even before the balloon went up, the shift was one of tone, more than substance.
The Americans have continued to push ahead with economic sanctions and military expansion in the region, angering Beijing.
Last week, Japan and the Netherlands were reported to have reached an agreement with Washington to limit exports of advanced chip-making equipment to China.
It would be just the latest move by the U.S. to limit Beijing’s access to sensitive semiconductor technology, cutting it off from microchip supply chains.
“This suggests that the US has taken a much more aggressive approach to technology transfer, trying to get key allies on board,” says Chris Miller, professor of international history.
And in the past few days, the U.S. military announced it was expanding its presence in the Philippines — one of several moves to strengthen regional alliances as it seeks to counter China amid growing concern over a potential conflict with Taiwan. Positioning itself for
But the Biden administration still wanted to talk.
Mr. Blanchett said the White House believed it was a good time to do so, as it followed in the footsteps of former President Donald Trump by establishing a track record of getting tough on Beijing and giving Congress some breathing space with a traitor on China. Has won the place to take.
Instead, the balloon gave Republicans a chance to lead the charge in demanding action against China’s “brazen disregard for American sovereignty.”
State Department officials stressed that they had not given up, with diplomatic contacts continuing to hold another meeting.
But they didn’t give a date, which added to the sense of a fruitful relationship.
