Blinken's China Trip Comes Amid New Tensions Over Russia And Tariffs

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will depart April 23 on a four-day trip to China. Blinken's trip comes on the back of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's trip, which she described as "productive" but was underpinned by US concerns that Chinese industrial overcapacity could impact US and global markets.

• Overcapacity is likely to figure during Blinken's trip, particularly as President Biden announced he could triple tariffs on certain Chinese metals, based on the results of an ongoing USTR review.
• The G7 said in a statement today: "...we are concerned that China’s non-market policies and practices are leading to harmful overcapacity... A growing China that plays by international rules would be of global interest. We are not decoupling or turning inwards."
• Blinken's will also raise concerns over China-Russia collaboration, China transaction in sanctioned Iranian crude oil, and attempt to dial down tensions in the Indo-Pacific - particularly regarding Chinese naval incursions into Philippine territorial waters, and Chinese concerns over security threats posed by AUKUS.
• Blinken said at a press conference in Italy today: "We’ve made very clear to China that they should not be supplying Russia with weapons... We’ve not seen the direct supply of weapons, [but we have seen] the critical supply of inputs, of components for Russia’s defense industrial base..."
• Blinken added: "China can’t have it both ways. It can’t purport to want to have positive, friendly relations with countries in Europe and at the same time be fueling the biggest threat to European security since the end of the Cold War."