The 50th anniversary of U.S.-China ping pong diplomacy was celebrated with speeches by Kissinger and Wang Qishan. As the pioneer of the U.S.-China ice-breaking tour 50 years ago, Kissinger’s nostalgia and anticipation of a U.S.-China rapprochement seems natural, but Wang Yi’s accusation that the United States “has not found the right way to deal with China” seems to make Kissinger’s efforts seem futile.
Kissinger has repeatedly spoken out for U.S.-China rapprochement in recent years, and on the 50th anniversary of U.S.-China ping-pong diplomacy, Kissinger spoke again as a proponent, while for the Chinese Communist Party, Vice President Wang Qishan revisited the good old days of ping-pong diplomacy and “promoting a big ball with a small one. Cooperation is the only correct choice.
Looking back on his “ice-breaking trip,” Kissinger said the important lesson of ping-pong diplomacy is that “sometimes you have to start with small steps,” referring to the historic visit of the U.S. ping-pong team to China, followed by his secret visit to China, which led to President Nixon’s visit to China. The event. Kissinger’s 24th video message focused on the expectation that the two peoples would reach an understanding with each other based on the importance of the two countries in the world landscape and economy.
Chinese Communist Party President Xi Jinping meets with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (center left) and his entourage at the New Economic Forum at the Great Hall of the People, Nov. 22, 2019. ap- Jason Lee
Kissinger visited China in November 2018 and was grandly received by Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People. He praised his contribution to U.S.-China relations as a “good friend of the Chinese people” and wasted no time in calling on the United States to “walk in the same direction” as China. Indeed, Kissinger has maintained good relations with the Chinese Communist Party leaders, ignoring the crisis in Hong Kong, the mass internment of Uighurs in Xinjiang, and the aggressive international efforts of the Chinese Communist Party.
On March 20, the former secretary of state warned that the U.S. and China must understand each other, or the glory will be gone and the world will face “pre-World War I dangers. “He made a similar statement at a video conference at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, a British think tank, on March 25: China is getting stronger and warns that it is “difficult to negotiate with a competitor like the Chinese Communist Party, and the problem is that the Chinese Communist Party will not necessarily accept the new order. “
Wu Yijun’s article “Only Kissinger happy to cooperate with Xi Jinping’s united front” in the ‘Shanghai Daily’ article talks about William Stanton, a former director of the American Institute in Taiwan, who spoke on April 9 at the “Influential Chinese Agents” conference. The influential Chinese agent” article criticized “Kissinger as China’s biggest fan”, saying that Kissinger was “unrequited in his love” and had spent “most of his career flattering the Chinese”, thinking he could do so. The article said Kissinger was “unrequited in his love” and had spent “most of his career flattering the Chinese”, thinking that this would win him favor with Beijing. But “from the Chinese point of view, of course, he was just being used.
Kissinger’s increasingly marginalized interlocutor in Washington in recent years has been Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan. Wang Qishan, who not long ago acted as an “announcer” at the Boao Conference, calling himself an “impromptu host” and trying to warm up Xi Jinping for his speech on stage, made a few remarks this time to mark the 50th anniversary of ping-pong diplomacy that seemed more like a showstopper than anything new. It is not just that his role is limited; perhaps he is aware that the U.S.-China relationship has reached such a point that his side-talk here is no longer useful?
I’m afraid it would be wrong to assume that the atmosphere of the 50th anniversary of ping-pong diplomacy is one of nostalgia and hope for “understanding” between the United States and China. Almost parallel to this video commemoration was another “China-U.S. Video Conference,” which truly revealed the official position of the Chinese Communist Party toward the United States, with no hint of “understanding. This is a video exchange between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the Institute for Foreign Relations, a U.S. think tank, published on the official website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry on April 24. However, Wang Yi’s remarks were anything but the wit of ping pong diplomacy.
Wang Yi made “five points” on U.S.-China relations, which is a cliché, including his hope that the United States will objectively understand and rationally treat the development of the CCP; that the United States and the CCP will take a new path of peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation; that the United States will respect and accommodate China’s independently chosen path and system; that the United States will practice genuine multilateralism; and that the United States will stop interfering in the CCP’s internal affairs. stop interfering in the internal affairs of the CCP.
Wang Yi merely softened Yang Jiechi’s Alaska speech a bit, turning the United States’ lack of standing to interfere in the CCP into the hope that the United States will stop interfering in the CCP’s internal affairs, and turning the United States’ lack of standing to impose democracy into respect for China’s independent choice of path. The Alaska Dialogue, which was an extremely unsuccessful dialogue, was highlighted by Wang Yi here: “The Alaska Dialogue opened up face-to-face interaction between the two countries at a high level in the context of the epidemic.
After several “hopes”, Wang Yi criticized that “the new U.S. administration’s policy toward China has not yet gotten rid of the shadow of the previous administration, has not yet come out of the misunderstanding of China, and has not yet found the right way to deal with the Chinese Communist Party”. The U.S. side is still figuring it out.
Wang Yi warned that “playing the Taiwan card” is “playing with fire” and beware, China is not likely to compromise and back down on major issues of principle. Wang Yi’s tone was stern, and he also brought up Xi Jinping’s statement about leveling with the United States, saying that China emphasizes “leveling” and “wants an equal”, and he put together a less-than-common quote from Yang Jiechi in Alaska: China does not accept the enthusiasm for China does not accept the desire to dictate to other countries from a position of “strength”.
Communist diplomats are now becoming more and more graphic and metaphorical in their attacks on the United States. As the leader of diplomats, Wang Yi naturally took it to the next level when he said, “Democracy is not Coca-Cola; the United States produces the original syrup and the whole world has the same flavor. Democracy was the crux of the Alaska meeting, and according to some reports in the Chinese official media after the meeting, Yang Jiechi was furious, also based on the fact that U.S. Secretary of State Blinken talked about democracy and human rights, and naturally said that the human rights situation in Hong Kong and Xinjiang was serious, implying that there was no way out for dictatorship. He also criticized the expansion strategy of the Chinese Communist Party, etc.
Wang Yi followed up by saying, “If there is only one model and one civilization on the earth, the world will lose its vitality and be devoid of vitality. Who doesn’t want to see a hundred flowers blossoming on the earth, all kinds of lifestyles and civilizations coexisting, but I’m afraid everyone is afraid of an authoritarian system that flouts human rights and restricts their freedom. Wang Yi said, “If we become democratic like the United States? The world would lose its vitality. I am afraid that the Uighurs in Xinjiang know best what is going on.
After all, Wang Yi does not want to abandon the word “democracy,” but he wants a Chinese style of democracy. Wang Yi’s video conversation made Xi’s explanation of Chinese democracy very clear. He said that China is practicing “a full process and the broadest democracy …… that is embraced by the people.
Wang accused the U.S. of not “labeling the Chinese Communist Party as ‘authoritarian’ or ‘dictatorial’ just because the “democracy” it practices is different from that of the U.S. This in itself is a sign of undemocracy. Since Xi Jinping came to power, China has increasingly rejected universal values and human rights, and Wang Yi has simply coined the term “values diplomacy. He advised the United States not to “engage in values diplomacy under the banner of democracy and human rights.
Perhaps Wang Yi was inspired by the criticism of the Chinese Communist Party’s muzzled diplomacy, vaccine diplomacy, and war wolf diplomacy, and simply put a “values diplomacy” on the West for balance?
Wang Yi finally returned to Wang Qishan’s thinking: the Chinese Communist Party has no intention of competing with the United States, and if the two sides highlight confrontation, the end is bound to be a lose-lose situation, “the correct way to handle Sino-US relations should be to strengthen dialogue, deepen cooperation, narrow differences and avoid confrontation. “
Some analysts say that the direction of the promotion of ping-pong diplomacy back then also included the expectation of universal values such as democracy and freedom, Wang Yi now describes it as “engaging in values diplomacy”, how can the two sides narrow their differences? Moreover, the White House has made it clear that in June, Biden will urge democratic countries to join forces at the G7 summit in Britain to deal with what he sees as “strategic rivals” to “authoritarian states,” especially China.
If Kissinger is still nostalgic about the ping-pong diplomacy of 50 years ago, and if he sincerely hopes for an understanding between the United States and China, should Wang Yi’s statement wake the old man up?
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