Biden Bets High-Level Diplomacy Can Cool Fiery Relations With China
After three years of self-isolation by China, President Biden’s top aides are flying into Beijing throughout the summer to try to convince and cajole Chinese officials, including Xi Jinping, the nation’s leader, on building a new foundation for relations.
It could amount to the most consequential diplomatic push of Mr. Biden’s presidency. He is betting that high-level dialogue can itself act as a ballast in a relationship that has been in a dangerous free fall for years. “I think there is a way to resolve, to establish a working relationship with China that benefits them and us,” Mr. Biden said in a CNN interview broadcast on Sunday, as Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen was ending her visit to Beijing.
Ms. Yellen met for hours with China’s premier, Li Qiang, and with a vice premier and top economic aide to Mr. Xi who was relatively unknown to U.S. officials — a sign that these exchanges might help establish important one-on-one channels. Since May, the C.I.A. director and the secretary of state have also traveled to Beijing, and the special climate envoy and the commerce secretary are following soon.
Mr. Biden and his aides say forging these personal ties could be necessary for defusing crises between the world’s two main superpowers. But the recent visits have also thrown into sharp relief the worsening structural problems in the relationship, ones that some analysts say could lead to armed conflict if mismanaged.
Source: The New York Times
