Yang Jiechi, director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office, delivered a speech on U.S.-China relations on February 2, calling for dialogue between the two sides as soon as possible and mentioning U.S.-China “cooperation” 31 times. A State Department spokesman responded that there was no urgency to engage with China at this Time.
In a video address to the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations on February 2, Yang Jiechi repeatedly emphasized that “the world’s top two economies and permanent members of the UN Security Council” should unite and “cooperate. “The United States and China have been working together for a long time. He also criticized the Trump administration’s Anti-Communist policies.
Yang Jiechi proposed four directions for “cooperation,” including how to view China (the Communist Party), restore normal U.S.-China relations, properly handle conflicts and differences, and develop mutually beneficial cooperation.
In the first two items, Yang recalled the Trump Administration‘s various policies to sanction the CCP. He considered them as “stumbling blocks” that hinder relations and cooperation between the two countries. On the differences, he claimed that Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet, and Xinjiang are issues of sovereignty and territory for the Chinese Communist Party and cannot be touched.
Finally, he emphasized that the U.S. and China can cooperate in international areas and organizations such as “combating epidemics, economic recovery, and climate change.
The media found that Yang Jiechi mentioned the word “cooperation” between the U.S. and China 31 times in his speech.
This is the first time since Biden‘s inauguration that the highest-ranking Chinese diplomat has spoken publicly about U.S.-China relations.
Prior to this speech, Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping, Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Cui Tiankai, and Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, among others, have spoken out across the aisle, eager to seek dialogue with the Biden Administration.
State Department spokesman Ned Pric, responding to Yang Jiechi’s remarks, said there are issues, including limited cooperation with the Chinese Communist Party on climate change, that are in the U.S. national interest.
He said the U.S. relationship with alliances and partners is a force multiplier in any area of challenge, and that includes the U.S.-China relationship. “So, as a first step, we want to make sure that we are in step with these allies, in step with these partners, and then …… you can expect that there will be engagement with China in several areas.”
Price also stressed that Beijing should stop its military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan and engage in meaningful dialogue with “Taiwan’s elected leaders”.
He also said the U.S. is deeply concerned about the Chinese Communist Party’s attempts to disqualify and harass the Chinese lawyers who represented the 12 Hong Kong residents and urged Beijing to respect human rights and the rule of law and immediately restore the lawyers’ legal qualifications.
Since Biden took office, there has been concern about the next step in U.S.-China relations and the impact on the global landscape.
Biden has spoken with many world leaders to date, but has yet to speak with Xi Jinping. Nor has he yet fully articulated his strategy toward the Chinese Communist Party.
Cheng Xiaonong has written that before Biden’s inauguration, U.S.-China relations had in fact entered a cold war, but it was not Trump who initiated this cold war, but the Chinese Communist Party.
Cheng Xiaonong said that in the first half of 2020, the Chinese Communist Party issued three consecutive nuclear threats to the United States; in June, the Communist Party announced that it had completed the Beidou satellite navigation system, which can achieve precise nuclear missile strikes against the entire U.S. territory. From July, Trump launched a comprehensive counterattack in the military, espionage, economic and political fields, and the United States and China thus entered a state of cold war.
He claimed that Biden succeeded to the presidency and that the Chinese Communist Party was eager to improve Sino-US relations economically and diplomatically. Biden has only put a hold on restricting investment in Chinese military companies, but otherwise “Sichuan rules and regulations follow”. And the Chinese Communist Party insists on its military assertiveness, and will press forward after the pace of military expansion and preparation.
Cheng Xiaonong said, although the Chinese Communist Party diplomatically appealed to the United States to ease bilateral relations, but under the wielding of the “big stick” of force, how can the United States and China ease?
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