The U.S. and China are at loggerheads, and bilateral relations have fallen to their lowest point since the two countries established diplomatic relations. China’s top leader Xi Jinping wrote to the owner of Starbucks asking him to play an active role in advancing the U.S.-China relationship.
The news was reported Friday (Jan. 15) by Xinhua, China’s official media.
Xi wrote to Howard Schultz, chairman emeritus of the board of directors of Starbucks Corporation, on Jan. 6, asking him and Starbucks to “continue to play an active role in promoting U.S.-China economic and trade cooperation and the development of relations between the two countries.
Schultz opened the first Starbucks café in China in 1999 and has been a frequent visitor to China and conducts business since then.
Previously, Schultz wrote a letter to Xi congratulating China on “the imminent completion of a moderately prosperous society and expressing his respect for the Chinese people and Chinese culture,” the Xinhua report said.
Observers noted that in a few days, Biden will be sworn in to succeed the Trump administration. By releasing his letter to Schultz, a prominent American entrepreneur, after this time and publicly expressing his hope that he will contribute to improving U.S.-China relations, Xi is clearly signaling to the new U.S. administration that he hopes to turn around the downward spiral that is spiraling the relationship between the two countries.
After taking office in 2017, the Trump administration began a comprehensive correction of the long-standing imbalance in U.S.-China relations, successively pressuring China through trade wars, technology wars and diplomatic wars, seeking to develop bilateral relations on a fair, reciprocal and mutually beneficial basis.
Observers have noted that one important difference between Biden and Trump in terms of their policies toward China is that Biden does not like to fight alone, but prefers to use multilateral forces to pressure China. Biden has also tried to enlist Beijing’s cooperation on global climate, the North Korean nuclear issue and other international political issues.
But on trade, the Biden team has released messages that the new administration will not change the Trump administration’s stated position of imposing high tariffs on China in the near term, given China’s abysmal record on human rights issues and technology theft.
Schultz was the longtime chief executive of Starbucks until 2017. He stepped down as chairman of the company again in 2018. Under his leadership, Starbucks expanded into China in a big way, making it the largest market for Starbucks outside the United States.
Starbucks now has more than 4,700 cafes and 58,000 employees in more than 190 cities in China.
In 2019, Schultz also said he was considering running for president of the United States as an independent. However, he later abandoned the plan.
According to CNN, Schultz recently sent the Chinese version of his just-published book, “Start Again: Reimagining the American Future,” to Xi Jinping.
Upon receiving Xi’s reply, Schultz said, “I sincerely believe that Starbucks’ best days in China are ahead of us, and that the values of creativity, compassion, teamwork and struggle will guide the company in its quest to achieve further business expansion and make greater contributions to our communities, while Starbucks also creates common ground for cooperation between our two countries.”
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