Blinken warns China’s top diplomat that Harris cares about rules-based order

VIENTIANE, Laos – In a sign of the shifting political landscape back home in Washington, Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered a message on Saturday to his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, that Vice President Kamala Harris, and not just President Joe Biden, is committed to the rules-based international order, a senior State Department official said.

The two chief diplomats met for more than an hour on the sidelines of a conference of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which is being held this year in the Laotian capital. It was their sixth meeting since resuming relations in June last year after a tense hiatus in which most high-level contacts between Washington and Beijing were put on hold.

Blinken “noted that both the president and the vice president believe that stability in the relationship is important, and that both also believe it’s important to uphold the rules-based order,” the senior State Department official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to talk frankly about the closed-door conversations.

Blinken’s effort to speak on behalf of Harris, and not just the president, was a sign that the administration is taking steps to convey political continuity to U.S. rivals after Biden’s surprise decision to abandon his reelection effort almost a week ago. The top U.S. diplomat typically speaks on behalf of the president and doesn’t specify the views of the vice president during international conversations, although it is not the first time he has mentioned Harris with Chinese officials, the State Department official said.

Harris has emerged as the likely Democratic nominee in the past week.

“Obviously, there’s a little bit different context now than there has been in the past,” the official said. Blinken has “noted that the vice president met with [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping] in Bangkok in 2022, so he has mentioned her before, but obviously there’s a different context now, because the circumstances are different than they were looking during previous meetings.”

In their conversation, Blinken ran through the litany of U.S. frustrations in its dealings with China, but the State Department official gave no indication that substantive progress had been made on any of the key topics. Chinese companies continue to supply key components to the Russian military industry. Blinken warned Wang against impeding the Philippines’ ability to resupply its ships and outposts in the South China Sea, which China claims as its own. And he warned Wang against threatening Taiwan.

“The secretary made clear that the United States, together with our allies and partners, will advance our vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific. He emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” State Department spokesman Matt Miller said in a statement.

Harris has made three trips to Asia as vice president, working to build relations with regional leaders in an effort to counterbalance China’s efforts to push against nearby countries and claim preeminence over its near neighborhood. Her allies say that Harris, a former prosecutor, is especially incensed by global rule-breaking and that she would continue Biden’s policy of a firm approach toward authoritarian nations that are trying to overturn the post-World War II system of international laws and governance.