By Ray Cardello for June 21, 2023, Season 20 / Post 17

In an embarrassing administration, Biden and company may have suffered their biggest defeat to date. Antony Blinken traveled to China this weekend and was to meet with Chinese diplomats but not Xi Jinping. That changed on Sunday when Xi consented to a one-on-one segment. The optics of that meeting was emblematic of the entire Blinken visit. Ordinarily, the principals in a diplomatic meeting would be seated in neutral positions. Not so with the Xi-Blinken session. Xi made it quite clear by sitting at the head of the table and Blinken on the side of the table. Xi and China are in charge.

This meeting and the reports and write-ups indicate Secretary of State Blinken’s objective was public relations, and there would be no hard-hitting topics discussed between Blinken and whoever would meet with him. The only concessions made by China were an increase in domestic flights between China and the United States and an agreement to communicate more in the future. That is a waste of jet fuel and ink for a stamp on the passports. That meeting could have been accomplished on a Zoom call.

If the fruits of this meeting result from diplomatic talks between the two superpowers, then future discussions are meaningless. That concession was simply to placate Washington and is not worthy of high-level negotiations. As for additional travel between our two countries, who does that benefit? China is not a safe environment for Americans, and this increase in travel options would help American businesses manage their operations in the CCP. This change in international commuting is not advantageous for America when we need to pull companies from China and back to America. We do not need to make China’s effort to attract and control American businesses any easier.

If we concede any reason for this Blinken visit, what topics should have been breached by Blinken? 

1. The Surveillance Balloon. This situation was a violation of our airspace and an act of aggression by China. Even though Biden proclaimed the incident an embarrassing mistake by China, that statement is the embarrassment. The balloon’s flight was obviously controlled, and was allowed to traverse the continent before we shot it down over the Atlantic. We have no idea what information this balloon gathered as it passed over some of our most strategic military bases.
2. Fentanyl. We know the supply of raw Fentanyl used by the Mexican cartels to produce the tablets smuggled into America, killing 100,000 young Americans yearly. The only purpose of this drug is profit for China and dead men and women for America.
3. Ukraine/Russia. We must discourage any intervention by China in Ukraine. Whether they supply Russia with technology or weapons, China’s actions will only extend the Ukraine conflict and result in the eventual fall of Ukraine.
4. Environmental. While the Biden Administration continues to micromanage American activity to minimize our impact on the environment, China is putting a coal-powered plant online every two weeks. Unless there is a concerted effort by all countries to mitigate carbon output, the effort of any one country will be ineffective.
5. TikTok and Theft of Intellectual Property. The control of American minds through computer apps and the monitoring and stealing of our sensitive systems must stop.
6. The Uighurs. Our protest and disgust for China’s human rights violations must be on the table.
7. Taiwan. Our protection of Taiwan and the shipping straight between Taiwan and Mainland China must be clear. We have to stand up for the freedoms and rights of the people of Taiwan and to ensure future trade between America and Taiwan.

These issues are not in any particular order, and I am sure we can come up with more significant concerns. But the list shows how feeble and nonconsequential the two concessions are that Blinken brought back to us. Then again, we cannot expect better results from the Biden Administration, which excels in diversity and fails in competence.