The U.S.-China diplomatic talks ended, not surprisingly, without a joint press conference or a joint statement, and the point should have been more before the talks and the effect of the dramatic opening remarks deliberately created by the Chinese Communist Party, and after the talks ended, there was nothing to see. A fruitless meeting was expected, but it became the biggest result of the talks, as several key topics of U.S.-China relations were clarified.
According to the U.S. State Department’s statement, it basically covered three areas: major differences, possible areas of cooperation, and no easing of trade tariffs and technology sanctions for now.
China’s Communist Party singled out differences and made a big deal out of them
Regarding serious differences, the statement said “there are a number of areas where we are fundamentally at odds, including China’s behavior in Xinjiang, but also Hong Kong, Tibet, the growing threat to Taiwan, and behavior in cyberspace” (there are a number of areas where we are fundamentally at odds, including China’s actions in Xinjiang, with regard to Hong Kong, Tibet, increasingly Taiwan, as well as actions that it’s taken in cyberspace).
The U.S. attitude toward these elements was largely clear before the talks, and after the 2+2 talks with Japan and South Korea, the U.S. has taken a tougher stance, making it difficult for the CCP. That is why Yang Jiechi and Wang Yi made a big show in their opening remarks, which were quickly reported by the Chinese Communist Party media as “gunpowder”. The U.S. government and various media know very well that this show is for the Chinese Communist Party’s internal and ordinary people, to show that the Chinese Communist Party dares to draw a red line for the U.S. again to its face, and dares to teach U.S. diplomats a lesson to their face.
The top echelon of the CCP should think that such an effect can give itself a facade, but it does not really solve the problems between the U.S. and China, and precisely escalates the conflict actively. While the CCP says repeatedly that it wants to manage differences, it makes a big deal out of them, essentially trying to cover up the issues that concern it most, namely tariffs and the technology embargo. The legacy of the Trump era is still stuck in the CCP’s throat, and the CCP most expects the Biden administration to lift or partially lift trade tariffs and technology sanctions against China.
The CCP knows that there is little hope for the U.S. to give in, but within the CCP, this is the most controversial issue and the one that the CCP top brass directly screwed up, and of course it is the most vain, which is why it deliberately ordered Yang Jiechi and Wang Yi to act, and the CCP party media fully cooperated to try to create public opinion and divert attention, but this actually exacerbated the tension in U.S.-China relations, and made it more difficult for this meeting to be fruitful and for the CCP to find a step down in the end.
Tariffs and technology sanctions will not be lifted for now
The statement released by the Chinese Communist Party’s Xinhua News Agency did not mention the two most critical elements of tariffs and technology sanctions, remaining in a war-wolf posture, indicating that no breakthrough has been made and that it can only continue to sing a high tune to cover it up.
The State Department’s statement was clearer, saying “On economics, trade, and technology, we told our (Chinese) counterparts that we are reviewing these issues in close consultation with Congress, allies, and partners. We will continue to move forward in a way that fully protects and advances the interests of workers and our businesses” (On economics, on trade, on technology, we told our counterparts that we are reviewing On economics, on trade, on technology, we told our counterparts that we are reviewing these issues with close consultation with Congress, with our allies and partners. (in a way that fully protects and advances the interests of workers and our businesses).
Yang Jiechi and Wang Yi certainly asked the U.S. to lift tariffs and technology sanctions, but were explicitly rebuffed. Or rather, the U.S. government made it clear that they would not be lifted, at least for the Time being, and that there was no progress on the most critical issues, so naturally nothing really came out of it for the Chinese Communist Party’s top brass.
The State Department statement also talked about Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan, climate and other points of intertwined interest, but none of these issues are of real concern to the CCP. Even if the CCP pretended to promise cooperation in these areas, it was in exchange for U.S. concessions on tariffs and technology sanctions, but the U.S. did not budge.
Whether the U.S. will ease tariffs and science and technology sanctions has been the issue of greatest concern and hope for clarity, and now the State Department’s statement basically clarifies it, while the CCP’s statement simply does not mention it, which also amounts to a kind of corroboration.
Once again, the U.S. has learned its lesson
The State Department statement said the talks were intended to do two things: “First, we wanted to share with them significant concerns about a range of Chinese (CCP) actions and behavior, including those shared by our allies and partners,” and second, “to set out very clearly our own policies, priorities and worldview. priorities and worldviews.”
The statement said it did both, which is certainly not difficult to do, and suggests that the U.S. did not expect much from the talks. The statement also deliberately added the words of U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, “we will go back to Washington to take stock of (where we are).
It appears that the U.S. government is using the talks as a process to assess the U.S.-China relationship, without defining a specific strategy, and that the talks are not destined to be productive.
The CCP’s first statements, one from Yang Jiechi and one from Wang Yi, basically repeated the usual rhetoric without addressing the specifics of the talks, with Wang Yi adding that “dialogue is better than confrontation.
Although the Chinese Communist Party quickly followed up with a lengthy statement, it still ignored tariffs and technology sanctions, and was more of a statement of position, and the Communist Party media had a hard time trying to continue to promote the “U.S.-China High-Level Strategic Dialogue.
The serious differences between the two sides are certainly not the outcome, and the list of possible areas of cooperation is not very fruitful, at least not in the sense that the CCP really cares. The issue of tariffs and technology sanctions, which is of most concern to the CCP, was not broken through and could not be mentioned. However, the clarification on this key issue, and the sharp set of differences between the two sides, should be considered the biggest achievement of the talks, and the outside world at least feels that the new U.S. administration is less ambiguous.
The new U.S. administration should have another takeaway. The poor opening statements by Yang Jiechi and Wang Yi and the hype in the Chinese Communist Party media are considered another wake-up call to the United States, and the CCP has once again made clear its true attitude toward the United States. The top echelon of the CCP may really think that the US is no longer able to do so, and that it is clearly stuck by the US, but still leaps to compete with the US for hegemony to its face, and even in public contempt.
The U.S. should really reevaluate the CCP regime, which is not acting like a competitor, but rather treating its enemies. If the U.S. is truly concerned about the CCP’s egregious rule-breaking behavior, it can no longer stop at similar pointless dialogues, but needs to take substantive action and prepare the means and leverage to counter forcefully as soon as possible. Otherwise, the CCP will only become more arrogant and reckless in its attempts to provoke and dismantle the U.S. It would be truly naive to expect the CCP to cooperate with the U.S.
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