Antony Blinken is hoping for a chance to Wang Chung with his Chinese “opposite number” Wang Yi on Thursday, in Munich, Germany. Both are expected to attend the same security conference but that doesn’t mean they’ll get a chance to talk. Wang Yi is expected to avoid him like he has COVID. Blinky needs to get really creative, and will be lurking behind potted plants in the corner of the buffet room, waiting for his chance to pounce on the Chinese Foreign Minister and catch him by surprise.
Blinken hopes for meeting
Minister of State Antony Blinken is really glad “a prominent European Security Conference” is on his calendar this week. He had to cancel his big trip to Beijing after the bigger spy balloon fiasco.
China doesn’t seem to mind, they don’t feel like talking anyway. They’ve shut down communications on their side. Instead of talking, they’re ramping up to start “re-unifying” with Taiwan, whether Nancy Pelosi likes it or not.
Blinky’s communist counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, is expected to show up for the party so it “raises the possibility of a face-to-face meeting with Wang.”
It’s a pleasure to be here in Munich at the Security Conference alongside leaders who I also call friends and colleagues. Our strength should not be underestimated—the United States, our Allies, and our partners are unified and clear in our purpose and confident in our vision. pic.twitter.com/wey2fox6wm
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) February 18, 2023
The odds are hovering somewhere between those for an eruption at Yellowstone this year and hitting four numbers plus the Powerball for $50 grand. The eruption is more likely but Blinken does stand a chance.
Blinky’s excuse for jetting off to Germany is to “participate in a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings.” The focus will be on “on support for Ukraine amid Russia’s war and assistance to Turkey and Syria in the wake of a devastating earthquake last week.”
Blinken plans sheepishly pretending the whole balloon overreaction thing didn’t happen while emphasizing that the big one really does look bad for them. Maybe they can just shelve that and get back to being nice to each other long enough to talk about giving Taiwan a little democracy. Or at least, not starting a war.
Agenda not disclosed
While the statement didn’t specifically lay out an agenda, because they haven’t been able to schedule a meeting with Wang Yi, yet, Blinken will be in discussions regarding “commitment to transatlantic security and a rules-based international order.”
Good news is that the Chinese Foreign Ministry RSVP’d Wang with the Security Conference. Blinky just needs to corner him long enough to talk to.
The Chinese spy balloon caught Joe Biden and his handlers totally off guard. That shouldn’t have happened because our spooks seem to have known about the program for years. They just never got around to telling anyone about it. The Chinese were caught equally off guard because they never expected Joe to shoot it down. At least, he let it complete its mission and beam the data back to Beijing before he blasted it. Hunter is sure to have a hard time selling his next batch of paintings after that.
Had a productive conversation with Serbian President @AVucic today at the @MunSecConf. We discussed the importance of normalized relations with Kosovo and I conveyed our appreciation for Serbia’s continued support for Ukraine. We share Serbia’s desire for a future with the EU. pic.twitter.com/9isoAics6N
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) February 17, 2023
Xi Jinping expected us to buy the semi-plausible cover story. When we got trigger happy and started blasting every piece of junk drifting on the wind, Beijing realized they would need to pause operations for a while. Blinken had no choice in canceling his planned visit, but it cut his throat diplomatically at the same time.
China got so rattled by the way we started getting serious about protecting our airspace, they accused us of sending spy balloons over them. Maybe we have been. Blinken doesn’t want to talk about that.
What we do know is that the alleged weather balloon wasn’t as “at the mercy of the wind” as China insists. It was able to maneuver pretty good to get better shots of our military installations on the way by. Not only that, there was one just like it over sensitive parts of South America. They’re floating over like it was a state fair in the Mid-East. Wang Yi better have some Kung Fu skills or Blinky will stab his hand to the table with a meat fork at the buffet, at least until he gets to say his piece.
