Blankenship pledged strong US support for Pakistan as it dries up from floods, which have submerged a third of the country, an area the size of Britain.
“We send a simple message,” Blanken said after talks with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in Washington.
“I urged my colleagues to engage China on some key issues of debt relief and restructuring so that Pakistan can emerge from the flood more quickly,” Blanken said.
China is a key economic and political partner of Pakistan, pushing ahead with a $54 billion economic corridor that will build infrastructure and give Beijing access to the Indian Ocean.
Washington, whose alliance with Islamabad has broken, has repeatedly alleged that China will benefit while Pakistan faces unsustainable debt.
Warnings from the US – which sees China as its pre-eminent global rival – have been repeatedly brushed aside by Pakistan.
Nearly 1,600 people – a third of them children – have been killed in Pakistan’s floods and more than 7 million displaced, amid fears that such extreme disasters will become more common due to climate change.
The United States has pledged $56 million in humanitarian aid and sent 17 planes full of supplies with long-term aid commitments.
Bilawal said US President Joe Biden, who signed a landmark domestic climate package last month, also needs to look at “climate justice”. Using Biden’s campaign slogan, he said, “It’s just It is not important that you make a ‘better return’ here.
“The opportunity of this crisis in Pakistan is that we should also build our house better – greener, more climate resilient –,” he said.
“I believe that working together we can do this.”
Pakistan, despite being the fifth most populous country, contributes only 0.8% of the greenhouse gas emissions that are responsible for climate change due to its underdeveloped state.
US relations with Pakistan deteriorated rapidly during the two-decade-long war in Afghanistan.
“We have our differences — it’s no secret,” Blanken said.
But he said Pakistan and the United States “share a stake in Afghanistan’s future,” including greater freedom for women and girls, whose rights have once again been largely eroded by the Taliban.
Blanken also encouraged Pakistan to respect freedom of religion and expression.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s five-month-old government has faced criticism for media restrictions since replacing Imran Khan.
Blanken also called on Pakistan to pursue “responsible relations” with India.
Dialogue between the historical rivals is deadlocked.
Shortly after meeting Bilawal, Blanken was hosting a dinner for Indian Foreign Minister Subramaniam Jaishankar, with whom he will hold talks on Tuesday.
South Asian foreign ministers were not expected to meet in Washington.
