Blinken calls for US, China to manage differences

A day before meeting Beijing's top brass to tackle thorny issues includingRussia, Taiwan and trade, Blinken's visit to Shanghai has seen him samplelocal food, watch a basketball game and stroll along the city's famous Bundpromenade.
Visiting the local Communist Party leader in a room with sweeping views ofthe Shanghai skyline, Blinken said US President Joe Biden was committed to"direct and sustained" dialogue between the world's two largest economiesafter years of mounting tension, reports BSS.
"I think it's important to underscore the value -- in fact, the necessity --of direct engagement, of speaking to each other, laying out our differences,which are real, seeking to work through them," Blinken said.
"We have an obligation for our people -- indeed an obligation to the world --to manage the relationship between our two countries responsibly."
The Chinese Communist Party secretary for Shanghai, Chen Jining, welcomedBlinken partly in English and spoke of the importance of US businesses to thecity.
"Whether we choose cooperation or confrontation affects the well-being ofboth peoples, both countries and the future of humanity," Chen told him.
The country's financial capital, Shanghai is often a stepping stone to powerin China, with President Xi Jinping previously serving briefly in the city.
China has not announced plans for Blinken to meet Xi, although on Blinken'slast visit in June, they saw each other in a meeting announced at the lastminute.
On Thursday, Blinken also met students at the Shanghai campus of New YorkUniversity, where he voiced hope for more Americans to study in China.
He insisted the United States was committed to welcoming Chinese students.
Beijing has repeatedly alleged that Chinese nationals with valid traveldocuments, including students, have been subject to aggressive interrogationsand deportations at US airports.
"President Biden and President Xi are determined to strengthen our people-to-people ties," Blinken said.
- Pressing on Russia -
Blinken, the first US secretary of state in 14 years to visit Shanghai,opened his visit Wednesday evening at a restaurant serving steamed buns.
Sporting a suit without a tie, he ate with his senior staff in a shoppingarcade as curious onlookers snapped pictures.
Blinken then went to watch a basketball game between the Shanghai Sharks andZhejiang Golden Bulls, staying until the end of the nail-biting play-off.
Such softer diplomacy, once a staple of US-China relations, would have beenunimaginable until recently, with hawks in both countries speaking of anemerging new Cold War.
Blinken's aides hope his smiling persona at public events draws an implicitcontrast to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and his gruffer approachwhen he visited China earlier this month.
Blinken is expected to raise concerns about China's relationship with Russiawhen he meets the leadership in Beijing.
Although US officials were initially pleased that Beijing has not shippedweapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine, they now say that China's alarm atMoscow's setbacks on the battlefield has prompted it to export vastquantities of industrial supplies to Russia.
US officials believe China is more receptive to Western concerns as it seeksto focus on managing economic headwinds at home and wants to avoid frictionwith the West.
But China is also furious about a series of moves by Biden -- who is facing atough re-election fight in November against Donald Trump -- they say serve toconstrain the Chinese economy.
Most recently, the US Congress approved legislation that would force thedivestment of blockbuster social media app TikTok from its Chinese owners orface a ban in the world's largest economy.
Biden supports the legislation, arguing that TikTok, popular among youngpeople, poses security and privacy concerns. China has accused the UnitedStates of unfair economic coercion.
Unusually, Trump has distanced himself from a TikTok ban. He has otherwisechampioned a tough line on China, with vows to raise tariffs drastically ifhe returns to office.
US officials also say that Blinken will encourage China to act with restraintas Taiwan inaugurates a new president next month.
China claims the self-governing democracy as its own and has not ruled outusing force to seize it.
Privately, US officials were relieved by China's approach during Taiwan'selection, believing that easing US-China tensions helped.
They assessed that Beijing's assertive military moves did not go beyond pastprecedent.