The top Chinese and U.S. diplomats spoke for the first Time Saturday (Feb. 6), but none of the two statements from the same call had the same content.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Yang Jiechi, secretary-general of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, spoke on Saturday, and both sides addressed five topics: human rights in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong; the military coup in Myanmar; security in Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region; the international system order; and the development of U.S.-China relations. However, both sides are talking about each other and there is no consensus anywhere.
In his 2 weeks in office, U.S. President Joe Biden has spoken with the leaders of Britain, France, Japan, Russia and many other countries; but there has been no call between Biden and Xi, the heads of the world’s two largest economies. Saturday was the first public call between the two countries’ top diplomatic officials.
U.S. Statement of Accountability for Beijing‘s Undermining of the International System
The call announcement, sent by State Department spokesman Ned Price, said, “Secretary of State Anthony Blinken emphasized that the United States will continue to defend human rights and democratic values in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong, and urged China (the Chinese Communist Party) to join the international community in condemning the military coup in Burma.
“The Secretary reiterated that the United States will work with its allies and partners to defend our shared values and interests and hold China (CCP) accountable for its actions that threaten the stability of the Indo-Pacific region, including the Taiwan Strait, and its undermining of the rules-based international system.”
Blinken later summarized the first call to China on his official Twitter account saying, “On a call with my counterpart in Beijing, Yang Jiechi, I made clear that the United States will defend our national interests, stand up for our democratic values, and hold Beijing accountable for its abuse (of) the international system.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a welcoming ceremony at the State Department in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 27, 2021.
China’s Statement Demands More Changes from the Biden Administration
However, these important statements by Blinken were completely omitted from the Communist Party’s Foreign Ministry’s briefing and from reports in official media such as Xinhua News Agency. According to the official communication released by the Chinese Communist Party, Yang Jiechi’s statement is similar to past Chinese statements in content, but it has become stronger in tone and wording, and has the meaning of drawing an early red line for the Biden administration’s policy toward China.
Chinese Communist Party President Xi Jinping, who participated in a World Economic Forum speech via video last week, warned the United States not to seek what he called confrontation. Later, in his speech to the U.S. on the 2nd, Yang Jiechi made it even clear that the damage to relations between the two countries was due to the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump and asked the Biden administration to “set things right.
Other senior Communist Party officials, such as Vice President Wang Qishan, also recently delivered a speech to the U.S. emphasizing that U.S. policy under Biden needs to change more than the Chinese side, “urging the U.S. side to correct its mistakes over a period of time.
The Wall Street Journal commented that Yang Jiechi’s statement echoed the content of recent speeches by Chinese Communist Party President Xi Jinping. However, Yang Jiechi left limited room for negotiation on issues such as human rights, Epidemic response, and what he called U.S. interference in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang affairs.
Comparative Table of Statements by Top U.S. and Chinese Diplomats on Their First Call since Biden’s Appointment
Subject U.S. Statement Chinese Statement Background
Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong The United States will continue to defend human rights and democratic values in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong. Matters involving Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and Tibet are internal affairs of China (the Chinese Communist Party) and do not tolerate interference by any outside force. The Trump Administration has enacted legislation in Congress to sanction Chinese officials who violate human rights in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, and the Biden administration must follow these laws as well.
Burma The United States urges China (CCP) to join the international community in condemning the military coup in Burma. It reiterated China’s position on the current situation in Burma and emphasized that the international community should create a favorable external environment for a proper resolution of the Burma issue. The U.S. considers the Feb. 1 military takeover in Burma a military coup and considers targeted sanctions against the Burmese military; China declines to directly condemn the Burmese military, and omits the word “coup” from the U.N. statement condemning Burma after the Chinese Communist Party intervened.
Taiwan Secretary of State reiterates ……’s commitment to hold China (the Chinese Communist Party) accountable for its actions that threaten the stability of the Indo-Pacific region, including the Taiwan Strait. The Taiwan issue is the most important and sensitive core issue in U.S.-China relations …… The U.S. side should strictly adhere to the one-China principle and the three U.S.-China joint communiqués. The Chinese statement said Blinken reiterated that the U.S. side will continue to pursue the one-China Policy and abide by the three U.S.-China joint communiqués, a policy position that has not changed. The U.S. statement made no mention of the content.
International System The Secretary of State reiterated that the United States will work with its allies and partners to defend our shared values and interests and hold China (Communist Party of China) …… accountable for undermining the rules-based international system. Yang Jiechi said the world should uphold …… not what a few countries call a rules-based international order. Biden’s policy is to return to all kinds of international organizations that Trump withdrew from; the CCP has also been advocating so-called multilateral cooperation, but China and the United States have diametrically opposed understandings of what rules are and what constitutes compliance with them.
U.S.-China Relations There was no mention of U.S.-China relations; the Secretary of State’s official Twitter account summed up the call: “I made clear that the United States will defend our national interests, stand up for our democratic values, and hold Beijing accountable for abusing (undermining) the international system.” Yang Jiechi said China urged the U.S. side to correct the mistakes made over a period of time …… without conflict or confrontation, focus on cooperation and manage differences. Blinken said the U.S. side is willing to develop stable and constructive bilateral relations with China; the two sides agreed to maintain contact and communication on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common concern, the Chinese statement said. But the U.S. statement did not mention these.
(The content of the Chinese statement is from Xinhua, the content of the U.S. statement is from the State Department)
U.S. Strategic and Patience Policy toward China May Remain a Chuan Rule
Since taking office, U.S. President Joe Biden has spoken by phone with the leaders of Britain, France, Japan, Russia and many other countries. However, a head of state call between the world’s two largest economies has not happened.
The Chinese Communist Party has been planning to arrange a meeting between Xi and Biden since last December, but it appears that the Biden administration is not eager to quickly engage with China now.
President Biden delivered his first foreign policy speech on April 4. He said China (the Chinese Communist Party) is the United States’ “most serious competitor (adversary),” and that the United States will push back against the Chinese Communist Party on intellectual property rights and human rights; but does not rule out working with Beijing when it is in the U.S. interest to do so.
“We will directly confront China (CCP), our most serious competitor that poses a challenge to our prosperity, security, and democratic values. We will confront China’s (CCP) economic ills, oppose its aggressive coercive actions, and push back against China’s (CCP) attacks on human rights, intellectual property and global governance.” Biden said, “But we are also prepared to work with Beijing when it is in America’s interest to do so.”
So far, Secretary of State Blinken has released a very similar policy message on China to his predecessor Mike Pompeo, who still describes China (the CCP) as a “significant challenge” to the United States, except that he says a strong alliance is an advantage for Washington against China (the CCP).
But Blinken also said that the U.S.-China relationship is a complex one, with aspects of antagonism and competition, as well as cooperation.
A White House spokesman has said the Biden administration will seek new ways to deal with Beijing with “strategic patience,” including an interdepartmental assessment of current policies toward China and consultations with U.S. allies and partners.
Dr. Xiaonong Cheng, a U.S.-based scholar and sociologist at Princeton University, writes (“No New U.S.-China Relations without a Fire in the New Office?”) Commenting on the current situation in China and the U.S., Dr. Cheng Xiaonong, a scholar at Princeton University and a social scientist at Princeton University, wrote: “The Chinese Communist Party’s two-pronged attack on the Biden administration has actually pushed the Biden administration to a point of no return. As a result, the ‘Chuan rule and Biden follow’ has become a natural outcome of the current Sino-US relations.”
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