U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's arrival in China on Wednesday has been met with skepticism, cynicism and suggestions that the absence of a red carpet for the top U.S. diplomat's arrival was a not-so-subtle message from Beijing.
Blinken kicked off his three-day visit to China in Shanghai with online commenters and analysts noting China had omitted the usual practice of laying out a red carpet for a distinguished visitor.
Posting on X, Hu Xijin, a former editor-in-chief of Chinese state media Global Times, said, "Blinken has arrived in Shanghai, China. Many people noticed when he stepped off the plane that there seemed to be no red carpet on the ground. His China visit should be seen as an 'imploring' one, although the U.S. made some tough public opinion preparations in advance."
Gordon Chang, a distinguished senior fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute think tank, responded to Hu Xijin's post, "#China, before #Blinken even stepped off his plane in #Shanghai today, insulted him."
An X user under the name Lord Bebo, who claims to be anti-mainstream media, posted, "Blinken arrives in China and is met WITHOUT RED CARPET. No band or anything … he's welcomed like a somebody unimportant." His post received more than 10,000 likes.
U.S.-China relations have eased since the two sides resumed high-level contacts, but many differences remain.
Before Blinken's visit, U.S. media reported that the U.S. discussed sanctioning some Chinese banks to counter their support for Russia. Blinken also stated in releasing the State Department's 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices that the Uyghurs in Xinjiang are victims of genocide and crimes against humanity.
He arrived in China the same day President Joe Biden signed a bill into law that includes Taiwan military aid and pushes TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to divest its U.S. operations.
"What an awkward moment for Blinken as he lands in China," Canadian geopolitics expert Abishur Prakash said. "The U.S. is full-steam ahead on taking on China, led by the bills around TikTok, Taiwan and support nations in the Indo-Pacific against Beijing."
'Face-to-face diplomacy matters'
On his day of arrival, Blinken posted a video speech against a backdrop of Shanghai's iconic buildings, such as the neon-lit Oriental Pearl Tower and the Shanghai World Financial Center.
"We just arrived here in Shanghai in the People's Republic of China to work on issues that matter to the American people," he said in the video. "One of those is fentanyl, synthetic opioids, the leading killer of Americans between the ages of 18 and 49.
"President [Joe] Biden, President Xi [Jinping], when they met in San Francisco at the end of last year, agreed to cooperate to help prevent fentanyl and the ingredients that make it from getting to the United States. We will be working on that."
Blinken said he would be talking not only to his counterparts in the Chinese government, but also to students, academics, business leaders and "the people who are building bridges and ties between our countries.
"And of course, we will be dealing with areas where we have real differences with China, dealing with them directly, communicating clearly. Face-to-face diplomacy matters," he said. "It's important to avoid miscommunications, misperceptions, and to advance the interests of the American people."
Reaction takes anti-American tone
On Chinese social media, Blinken's overtures were met with cynicism.
On Weibo, China's largest social platform, Blinken's second visit to China had limited coverage, and the discussion was dominated by an anti-American tone.
A Weibo user under the name of Xiao Fan Hao She argued that the United States has not officially listed all fentanyl-like substances on the control list.
"We ask whether the United States believes that it can solve the domestic problems in the United States by shifting the blame externally, shirking responsibility, and smearing China's image," she wrote.
A Weibo user under the name of An Hao Xin said, "Coming with him is also the bargaining chip of 'bank sanctions.' To be honest, if you want to kick SWIFT out, just do it quickly. Why are you hesitating?"
Another commenter said, "If you dare to overturn the table, then we just aid Russia with weapons and see who suffers."
Kenneth Roth, a former executive director of Human Rights Watch and visiting professor at Princeton University, linked the visit to U.S. Middle East policy, saying on X that Blinken "would have an easier time telling the Chinese government not to provide military supplies to Russia as it commits war crimes in Ukraine if the U.S. government were not arming Israel as it commits war crimes in Gaza."
But Roth also said, "It will be shameful if Blinken is so determined to make nice to Beijing that he doesn't publicly mention its crimes against humanity targeting Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang."
Jonathan Cheng, the China bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, said on X, "Unnamed Chinese official to Blinken: 'Perception is always the first button that must be put right. Whether China and the United States are rivals or partners is a fundamental issue, on which there must not be any catastrophic mistake.' "
Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
