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Beijing has refined the US by refusing to grant Wendy Sherman, deputy secretary of state, a meeting with her counterpart during a proposed visit to China this would have been the first top-tier engagement since sorrel talks in Alaska.
The United States halted plans for Sherman to travel to Tianjin after China refused to arrange a meeting with Le Yucheng, his counterpart, according to four people familiar with the decision. China offered a meeting with Xie Feng, the fifth-ranked Foreign Ministry official in charge of U.S. affairs.
The Biden administration was negotiating what would have been the first high-level compromise since its first meeting in Alaska, which erupted in a public dispute between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Yang Jiechi, the top official of Chinese foreign policy.
Although the state department had not said Sherman would travel to China, it planned to visit him after a trip to Japan, South Korea and Mongolia.
The Chinese shock follows a similar one confrontation between the military of the two countries. Earlier this year, China rejected several requests for U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to meet with General Xu Qiliang, China’s top military officer. But China refused to participate, having previously offered a meeting with the defense minister, which is less high on its system.
Evan Medeiros, an expert on China at Georgetown University, said China was “playing games” as the history of diplomatic meetings made it clear that Sherman should meet with Le, the ministry’s number two. ‘External Affairs.
“China’s movement is dangerous. It increases mistrust, tension and the risk of miscalculation during an already full period, ”Medeiros said.
China had originally suggested that Sherman might also make a video call with Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister, during his visit to Tianjin.
Last month, Kurt Campbell, the top White House official in Asia, said the United States was frustrated that China refused to hold meetings with officials close to Xi Jinping. He said even Yang and Wang were not “within a hundred kilometers” of the Chinese president’s inner circle of trusted advisers.
The difference occurs four months after the Alaska meeting, which also ended on a high note. At the end of the two-day meeting, Yang told Blinken in private that he would welcome a follow-up meeting in China, to which the secretary of state said “thank you.” When Yang asked him if he wanted to visit him, Blinken replied “thank you means thank you” in a clear indication that the U.S. was not prepared to hold another meeting that would infuriate China.
“Perhaps they are trying to punish the United States for insufficient respect for Anchorage,” said Bonnie Glaser, a Chinese expert with the German Marshall Fund. “Or maybe Beijing will simply test the Biden administration and eventually propose a top-level Foreign Ministry official and the visit could be added to Sherman’s itinerary.”
Ryan Hass, a former China State Department now expert at the Brookings Institution, said it was “usual” for the United States and China to participate in protocol regattas at the start of a new administration in Washington.
“Arriving U.S. officials typically want to protect the level of protocol at which Chinese authorities have historically received their office and vice versa,” Hass said. “These kinds of protocol issues often, but not always, work on their own when senior officials arrive.”
A senior State Department official said the U.S. would continue to “explore opportunities” to hire Chinese officials. “As with all overseas travel, we make announcements only once, and yes, we determine that a visit can be substantive and constructive for our purposes.” U.S. officials said the state department is holding “ongoing” discussions with Beijing over a possible visit.
The United States saw Sherman’s visit as a possible springboard for a visit to Blinken’s China that would lay the groundwork for President Joe Biden to hold his first meeting with Xi at the G20 summit in Italy in October.
The Chinese embassy did not respond to any requests for comment.
Carry on Demetri Sevastopulo on Twitter
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