Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken is scheduled to meet with officials in China this week as disputes over war, trade, technology and security test the two countries' efforts to stabilize relations.
The United States is entering an election year in which President Biden will face intense pressure to stand up to China's authoritarian government and protect American businesses and workers from low-cost Chinese imports.
China is attracting foreign investment to help its sluggish economy. At the same time, leader Xi Jinping has been expanding China's military presence around Taiwan and the South China Sea in a way that has strengthened national security and alarmed neighboring countries.
President Biden and Xi held talks to try to prevent the dispute between the two countries from escalating into conflict after relations fell to their lowest point in decades last year. However, a number of challenges can make it difficult to stabilize a relationship.
Confrontation over China's territorial claims
The United States has been building security alliances in Asia to counter China's increasingly assertive claims over the South China Sea and self-governing Taiwan.
That effort resulted in It has heightened concerns in Beijing that the United States is leading a campaign to encircle China and curb its rise.
At a meeting earlier this month, Mr. Biden met with the leaders of Japan and the Philippines. The U.S. government said the two discussed territorial conflicts in the South China Sea, including China's “repeated harassment of legitimate Philippine operations.”
As encounters between Chinese and American warships and aircraft continue in the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea, and East China Sea, there are concerns that this accident could lead to a confrontation between the two countries. That's why U.S. officials have insisted on maintaining close military communications. High-level contacts between the two militaries were restored earlier this year after China suspended communications in response to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August 2022.
China says the United States and its allies are encouraging confrontation and should not interfere in regional affairs. There's already a buzz this week with news that the United States and the Philippines will begin their annual joint military exercises. The U.S. Army also deployed to the Philippines for the first time an intermediate-range missile system capable of reaching targets in China as part of the exercise.
To counter U.S. efforts, China has sought to strengthen ties with non-aligned countries in the region. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Indonesia, Cambodia and Papua New Guinea last week, and around the same time, Prime Minister Blinken met with foreign ministers from G7 countries.
Inhibiting the flow of fentanyl
U.S. officials say China has played a troubling role in providing chemicals and precursors used to make a powerful drug called fentanyl.
At a meeting in San Francisco last November, President Biden and President Xi decided to work together to track and reduce this flow. U.S. officials said China was beginning to make some progress on the issue but would likely push for further action.
In a report released last week, a House of Representatives committee focused on China alleged that China actively encouraged the supply of fentanyl precursors to the United States, including by providing subsidies to exporters. A U.S. State Department official said Chinese authorities have begun taking action against Chinese suppliers of synthetic drugs and chemical precursors, but the United States wants to see progress.
China has long denied playing a major role in America's fentanyl crisis and has deflected accusations that it was a victim of Western powers during the Opium Wars.
Trade and Technology Restrictions
The United States and China still have the world's most extensive trading relationship, but it has become more contentious in recent months.
U.S. officials have urged China to scale back exports of cheap electric vehicles and other green energy products, saying they pose a threat to American jobs. They are weighing whether to raise tariffs on Chinese cars and solar panels to prevent more Chinese imports from the United States.
Last week, the Biden administration announced it would triple tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum products and launch an investigation into unfair practices in China's shipbuilding, maritime and logistics sector.
The Biden administration also continues to add more restrictions on the sale of advanced chips and the machines used to make them to China over concerns that AI could benefit the Chinese military.
And on Tuesday, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that would require TikTok's Chinese owners to sell the app or face being banned from the United States. The ban will likely be challenged in court.
China has opposed the restrictions, which President Xi said were an attempt to deny China its “legitimate right to development.” In response, he urged China to encourage “new productive forces.” This is the mantra of the government, which aims to strengthen the country's economy through technology and innovation while hoping to become self-reliant.
Cybersecurity and Election Interference
U.S. officials have expressed concern that China may try to influence the outcome of the upcoming U.S. presidential election, including organizing social media campaigns to influence U.S. public opinion.
The National Security Agency said last week there were more signs that China was seeking access to America's critical infrastructure to threaten it in the event of conflict. Last year, Microsoft said it had discovered malware spread by Chinese government hackers embedded in communications systems in Guam and other parts of the United States.
China has denied involvement in cyberattacks and election interference, but recently leaked documents reveal that China has developed a sophisticated network of state-backed hackers targeting databases around the world.
Russia's war in Ukraine
U.S. officials have made clear that they view China's sales of chips, machine tools, drones and other materials being used in the Ukraine war to Russia as one of the biggest obstacles to China-U.S. relations.
And they believe that getting China to withdraw that support could determine the outcome of the war.
China has tried to follow a cautious line of supporting Russia but not providing it with “lethal support,” including weapons. In early April, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with the Russian Foreign Minister and reaffirmed the partnership between China and Russia.
Despite the easing of tensions between China and the United States, Xi and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin still maintain close cooperation. Both leaders have sought to undermine Washington's global dominance, accusing “American hegemony” of limiting their national ambitions.
influence in iran
U.S. officials, including Mr. Blinken, have called on China to use its influence on Iran to dissuade it from escalating its confrontation with Israel, hoping to avoid a larger war in the Middle East.
China and Iran, like-minded critics of the West, have maintained close diplomatic ties for more than 50 years. The relationship grew economically, with China promising to invest billions of dollars in Iran in exchange for oil and fuel.
China earlier this month described Iran's missile and drone attacks targeting Israel as “an act of self-defense” after seven Iranian officials were widely reported to have been killed in the Israeli attack.
Since Israel's war on Gaza began, China has been blaming the United States for decades of instability in the Middle East and seeking solidarity with the Islamic world. China also did not blame Hamas for the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel.