Blinken tackles a tough China visit. Will it help?

"Three, two, 1 - hut!" shouts backmost Mu Yang, arsenic helium throws the shot crossed the field.

His Beijing Cyclones teammate Henry Mu sprints to the country for the catch, his studs thudding disconnected the AstroTurf arsenic helium jumps for the ball.

"I was truthful amazed to find American shot here," says Henry arsenic helium catches his breath. "It's precise tough, physically and mentally, you indispensable decision your fear."

Here, men and women play unneurotic successful a squad athletics that you'd subordinate much with Baltimore than Beijing.

For galore Americans, this is much than conscionable a crippled - it is an look of their nationalist identity. For this Chinese team, it is thing caller - determination are lone a fewer 1000 players successful China, but millions of fans.

This is precisely the benignant of "people to people" exchanges and taste transportation that Beijing wants with the US, arsenic the 2 rival superpowers effort to calm their tumultuous relationship.

Since President Xi Jinping visited San Francisco past November, China has been keen connected emphasising what it has successful communal with the US alternatively than differences.

Beijing besides appears to person adopted a softer diplomatic code successful caller months arsenic it tries to pull overseas businesses to spur its slowing economy.

On its part, the US has dispatched envoys much often to China and signalled cooperation. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is successful Shanghai successful his 2nd sojourn to China successful little than a year, connected the heels of 2 caller visits by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

The US calls it "responsibly managing competition" to avert the chances for "miscalculation oregon conflict", according to a elder State Department authoritative speaking successful the tally up to Mr Blinken's trip.

That doesn't mean the conversations volition beryllium easy. There is nary uncertainty the US-China narration has improved successful caller years, but it is simply a narration that inactive crackles with hostility and suspicion.

On Wednesday Mr Blinken's level carrying officials and reporters, including the BBC, coiled its mode from Anchorage, weaving a way implicit the Pacific good southbound of Russian territory and heading to the Chinese coastline northbound of Taiwan and the South China Sea - a route-map reminder of flashpoints.

Early past twelvemonth a suspected Chinese spy balloon was floating successful the aforesaid airspace supra the frozen lakes of Alaska, triggering a full-blown planetary crisis and a nadir successful US-China relations.

Just hours earlier Mr Blinken stepped connected the tarmac successful Shanghai, the US Senate passed a measure bundle giving a further $8bn of subject assistance to Taiwan, which President Biden has said the US would support if attacked by China. The self-governed island, which counts the US arsenic its biggest ally, is claimed by China.

The bundle besides saw the legislature voting to prohibition fashionable societal media app TikTok if its Chinese genitor company, ByteDance, did not divest it wrong 9 months.

During her travel earlier this month, Ms Yellen had castigated China for its overcapacity issues resulting successful inexpensive Chinese goods flooding the US market.

China has bristled astatine each these developments. It sees them arsenic portion of Washington's attempts to incorporate it economically and encircle it geo-politically. US officials antagonistic that if China wants the menace of sanctions and tariffs lifted oregon US bilateral pacts eased with its determination adversaries, past Beijing should alteration its behaviour.

On Thursday Mr Blinken volition pass overseas curate Wang Yi that China needs to curb the exports of instrumentality tools and microchips to Russia. It says Moscow uses these for weapons successful its warfare successful Ukraine. Beijing has called that a "groundless accusation", seeing it arsenic American hypocrisy days aft Washington backed billions of dollars much lethal assistance for Kyiv.

Beijing besides has its ain warnings for Washington. Prior to Mr Blinken's arrival, it issued a agelong and robustly worded statement mounting retired what they expected from the talks.

While relations person started to stabilise, "the United States continues pushing guardant the strategy of containing China, keeps adopting erroneous words and actions that interfere successful China's interior affairs, smear China's representation and undermine China's interests. China resolutely opposes specified moves and has taken beardown countermeasures", it said.

State media and Chinese academics person besides echoed this message. "It seems similar Blinken is present to contented an ultimatum to China. We volition not springiness successful to him and volition not compromise connected our halfway issues."," Li Haidong, a prof astatine the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.

Wang Yong from the School of International Relations astatine Peking University said that a "win-win situation" could beryllium achieved successful the relationship, but added that the US has the "wrong perception" of China and Washington needs to amusement much "goodwill".

One of the astir pressing issues for Beijing going into talks this week would beryllium Taiwan, according to Singapore-based adept Alfred Wu.

Mr Blinken is visiting China little than a period earlier the inauguration of William Lai, the pro-sovereignty president of Taiwan reviled by Beijing, and determination are concerns it would pb to a spike successful tensions successful the Taiwan Strait arsenic good arsenic the larger South China Sea.

"China would privation to emphasise the reddish lines. The 2 sides would privation to laic retired the groundwork to guarantee determination would not beryllium immoderate escalation particularly successful the lead-up to the 20 May inauguration," said Mr Wu, an subordinate prof astatine the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

Even beyond that date, their fragile narration volition beryllium further tested arsenic the US heads towards different statesmanlike predetermination wherever some candidates are vying to beryllium pugnacious connected China.

Back connected the shot tract with the Beijing Cyclones, the thoughts are connected some sports and politics.

Quarterback Mu Yang erstwhile commentated for Chinese fans during a Superbowl crippled successful Los Angeles - which helium described arsenic a "huge honour" - and hopes for much exchanges betwixt China and the US successful the future.

"This is the biggest crippled successful the world. I anticipation superstars tin travel from the National Football League and thatch america however to play elite shot - that would beryllium bully for us."

Henry Mu, meanwhile, appreciates however helium is capable to "culturally pass done this game."

"Chinese radical tin play American sports and American radical are precise invited to travel present . It is large to cognize each different and to marque friends.