Larus Comments on BBC Chinese on Blinken’s Beijing Visit

Elizabeth Freund Larus, Ph.D., Professor Emerita of Political Science and International Affairs and Adjunct Fellow at the Pacific Forum, commented to BBC Chinese on the advent of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing. Professor Larus indicated low expectations for the visit, stating that Washington and Beijing still disagree on key issues, including China’s increased military activity near Taiwan, disputes in the South China Sea, China’s support of Russia in the Ukraine war, trade and intellectual property disputes, and U.S. limits on the export of sensitive technology to China. She indicated that the Biden administration desired the meeting more than China’s leaders, a fact that was not lost on Beijing. Blinken cancelled his planned trip to Beijing after China’s spy balloon drifted over the U.S. It has taken several months to get the bilateral talks back on track, and largely at the U.S. initiative, making Blinken appear more as a supplicant than as an equal. Professor Larus stressed, however, that the two powers need to talk, particularly to avoid misunderstandings or accidents near Taiwan. Read more.