10-6-2023 (WASHINGTON) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to travel to China next week for crucial talks aimed at stabilizing the strained relations between the two countries, according to a US official. Blinken’s visit, long-delayed due to various factors, is anticipated to take place on June 18.
Reuters had previously reported, citing an anonymous official, that Blinken would be visiting China in the coming weeks. However, further details were not provided at the time.
In February, Blinken canceled a planned trip to Beijing, which would have marked the first visit by a US secretary of state in five years. The cancellation was prompted by concerns over a suspected Chinese spy balloon that flew over the United States.
The rescheduling of the visit comes after the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that China had entered into a secret agreement with Cuba to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility on the island, located approximately 160km from Florida.
While the spokesperson for the White House National Security Council dismissed the report as inaccurate, stating that the US had “real concerns” about China’s relationship with Cuba and was closely monitoring the situation, the State Department, White House, and Pentagon have yet to comment on a subsequent New York Times report. The latter report claimed that China was planning to construct a facility in Cuba that US officials feared could be capable of intercepting signals from nearby US military and commercial installations, potentially posing a threat to national security.
In response to the allegations, Cuban Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio labeled the Journal report as “totally mendacious and unfounded,” asserting that it was a fabrication by the US to justify the longstanding economic embargo against Cuba. He emphasized Cuba’s rejection of any foreign military presence in Latin America and the Caribbean.
China’s foreign ministry, on the other hand, accused the United States of employing tactics of “spreading rumors and slander,” referring to it as a “hacker empire.”
The potential implications of the Cuba issue on Blinken’s planned visit raise concerns as Washington sees the trip as a significant step towards thawing the relations between the world’s two largest economies, as emphasized by President Joe Biden.
Tensions between the US and China have escalated over a range of issues, including military activities in the South China Sea and near Taiwan, human rights concerns, and technological competition.
US Senators Mark Warner and Marco Rubio expressed deep concern over the Journal report, urging the Biden administration to take necessary measures to prevent the alleged threat to national security and sovereignty.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington stated that it had no information regarding Blinken’s visit but referred to the last meeting between Presidents Biden and Xi Jinping in November, expressing China’s openness to dialogue with the United States. The embassy added that it hopes the US will work together in line with the common understandings reached between the two presidents during their meeting in Bali.
