Beijing bid to mend fences in Blinken visit as net tightens

China and the United States must find common ground for the sake of the global economic recovery, the Communist Party's flagship newspaper said, signaling Beijing's continued desire to mend ties ahead of an expected visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The United States has not "let go of its obsession with treating China as a so-called strategic competitor," the People's Daily said in a commentary yesterday. "What the US should understand is that there is competition in the world but competition should be to learn from and catch up with each other, alongside making progress together, not 'If you lose, I win; You die, I live.' Blind anti-China approaches will not work."

Blinken would be the first US secretary of state to visit China since Michael Pompeo's trip in October 2018 amid then-president Donald Trump's trade war. That trip included Pompeo and then-foreign minister Wang Yi airing their disagreements and President Xi Jinping declining to meet with the visiting diplomat.

While neither side has disclosed Blinken's itinerary, a commentary in China Daily said he would visit Sunday and Monday. The visit has been in the works since President Joe Biden met Xi at the G20 summit in Bali in November.

The People's Daily also said Washington should respect China's sovereignty by not crossing its bottom line with support for Taiwan independence.

The commentary came a day after NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said Japan and NATO must "remain united and firm" in the face of threats posed by China, North Korea and Russia's war in Ukraine.

He said Beijing was keeping a close eye on developments in Ukraine and "learning lessons that may influence its future decisions," adding "what's happening in Europe today could happen in east Asia tomorrow."

He spoke alongside Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida after their talks as part of his trip to Asia aimed at boosting ties with democratic allies.

The pair said they were "concerned by Russia's growing military cooperation with China, including joint operations and drills in the vicinity of Japan."

BLOOMBERG/ASSOCIATED PRESS