On the fringes of the Munich Security Conference, US Secretary of State Blinken met top diplomat Wang Yi. In addition to the unfortunate balloon affair, which is clouding relations between Washington and Beijing, China’s announced peace plan for Kiev should also be an issue.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi for talks on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in the evening. The meeting took place at an undisclosed location, a senior US official said. Against the background of the tense relations between the two countries, not least because of the downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the US coast, there had been speculation about a meeting between the two diplomats in Munich.
Wang had previously accused the US of reacting “hysterically and absurdly” to the alleged Chinese spy balloon shot down in US airspace. In a speech at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, he accused the US government of having a “misguided” view of China and of wanting to “smear” Beijing’s reputation. China urges the US not to do such “absurd things” just to “divert attention from domestic problems,” Wang said. “There are many balloons from many countries in the sky. Do you want to shoot down every one of them?” asked the top Chinese foreign policy maker ironically.
The day-long overflight of the suspected Chinese spy balloon over several top-secret US nuclear weapons depots had led to a scandal between Washington and Beijing. Blinken canceled a planned visit to Beijing at short notice. A US fighter jet shot down the balloon over the sea on February 4th. The US military then recovered debris that is now being examined. Beijing describes the balloon as a weather balloon and rejects allegations of espionage.
Beijing had previously announced in Munich that China wanted to present a peace initiative on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Top Chinese foreign policy maker Wang Yi said the Chinese position boils down to support for peace talks. Beijing is playing a constructive role and will present its peace initiative on February 24.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock rejected any call for occupied Ukrainian territories to be ceded to Russia. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal made similar statements. At a discussion in Munich, Baerbock said it was good that China wanted to “submit a paper for peace”. She hopes “that China will ask Russia to stop fighting.” She stressed: “We call on China and everyone in the world not to supply arms to Russia.”
The former head of the Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Ischinger, dampened expectations of a Chinese peace plan for Kiev. In an interview with the ARD “Tagesthemen” Ischinger said it was a remarkable step that China had chosen the security conference as a platform for announcing such a plan. Nevertheless, not too high hopes should be attached to it. “It would be a big surprise if China would bring itself to (…) present a complete roadmap to peace,” said Ischinger. According to his assessment, this is “rather not” very realistic.
With a view to the tense situation between China and the USA, Ischinger complained that it would probably not be possible to “defuse the unfortunate balloon affair at least, maybe to get rid of it” at the conference.
