Modi's US visit more significant than Blinken's China trip next week, indicates NSA Sullivan

THE US expects a "transformational moment" in its ties with India when prime minister Narendra Modi visits Washington on June 20, Jake Sullivan, national security adviser (NSA) to president Joe Biden said as he downplayed possibilities of a diplomatic breakthrough in China where US secretary of state Antony Blinken is set to visit early next week.

Speaking in Tokyo where Biden dispatched him to meet his counterparts from countries such as Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, Sullivan called Blinken's trip to Chine a "significant event" but added that it was unlikely to be the most significant event next week when it comes to Washington's foreign policy, Reuters reported.

The indication was clear.

Blinken's visit to Beijing will take place on June 18 and 19, just a few days before Modi reaches the US capital. Biden has made deepening ties with New Delhi a cornerstone of his efforts to contain Beijing's growing influence, with his administration hoping to convince India, which has some security and economic ties with Russia, to purchase American military drones, the Reuters report added.

One of Blinken's objectives in China will be to manage escalation with the host nation to ensure that the world's two biggest military powers do not "veer in to conflict", the US NSA said.

According to him, "vigorous competition requires vigorous diplomacy".

Blinken's visit to China will be the maiden one by a high-ranking official since Biden took over as the president two years ago, and comes after the top diplomat postponed a visit in February after a suspected Chinese balloon intruded into the US airspace.