By Lee Seong-hyon
While the U.S. is putting pressure on China in terms of trade, technology, Hong Kong and Taiwan, attention is being drawn to the latest development. China's Politburo member Yang Jiechi, State Councilor Wang Yi and Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Cui Tiankai, all have expressed a common desire to get the world's most consequential relationship back on track. This warrants a closer look.
On Aug. 7, Yang Jiechi published an article on U.S.-China relations via the state-run Xinhua News Agency. What's eye-catching is that it is a long piece ― 6,400 words. The usual length of a final exam paper at Tsinghua University, the alma mater of President Xi Jinping, is 6,000 words. Yang's article received great attention as it was as informative was it is long. Above all, it was written by a person who directly reports to Xi.
Yang is a member of the powerful Politburo of the Communist Party of China. He is also director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, which is the highest decision-making body on foreign policy in China. This is why Yang is referred to as the "general manager of Chinese diplomacy" by some media outlets. Some China watchers still remember the organization by its previous name, the Foreign Affairs Leading Small Group (FALSG).
Yang's article stands to represent the most authoritative deliberation on China's foreign policy toward the U.S. at a time when the U.S.-China conflict, which began with a trade war in 2018, is stretching beyond two years and heading into what some call "a new Cold War."
Yang began by reflecting on the historic meeting between Richard Nixon and Mao Zedong that opened 41 years of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China to date, and recounted the relationship between the U.S. and China in a historical context. The key points are as follows.
First, since the very beginning of normalizing Sino-American relations in the 1970s, the bilateral ties have been built on mutual understanding that both sides "recognize and respect different social systems." According to Yang, Nixon said in Beijing: "You believe in your system, and we believe in our system. We have gathered here not because we share a common faith, but because we share common interests…… We have no reason to be enemies."
In other words, the U.S. presumably accepted and embraced from the very outset, that China is a communist-controlled socialist country, and according to this logic. U.S.-China relations were going well. But then, why did the U.S. suddenly take issue with China's political system after Trump became president? This line of complaint is repeated in the remarks by other senior Chinese diplomatic officials.
Second, Yang explained in detail the increase in bilateral trade exchanges. The trade volume has increased more than 200-fold over the past 41 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China. It means to underscore that economic exchange benefits both countries. So, why the trade war?
Third, according to Yang, the American attempt to deprive the Chinese people of their right to economic development is "wishful thinking" (bai ri zuo meng) that cannot succeed. That means China's rise is an unstoppable trend and the U.S. cannot restrain China. Yang also argues that the fact that the Chinese economy is recovering better than expected in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis has fully demonstrated the strength of the Chinese economy. Yang argues that this is thanks to the leadership of the Communist Party of China and Chinese-style socialism, and that China has achieved great economic progress through its choice of development model, which is different from the Western development model.
Fourth, Yang says the United States should respect China's core interests. He lists Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet, Xinjiang, for instance. He also stressed that the Chinese government is "determined" to protect the interests of China's national sovereignty, safety and development. When it comes to "core interests," Xi Jinping also often stresses that China will not yield or make concessions ― no matter what. Yang argues that there is no reason for the U.S. and China to become "enemies," that China wants to normalize bilateral relations, and that doing so is in the national interest of the U.S. (To be continued)
Lee Seong-hyon (sunnybbsfs@gmail.com), Ph.D., is director of the Center for Chinese Studies at the Sejong Institute.
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On Aug. 7, Yang Jiechi published an article on U.S.-China relations via the state-run Xinhua News Agency. What's eye-catching is that it is a long piece ― 6,400 words. The usual length of a final exam paper at Tsinghua University, the alma mater of President Xi Jinping, is 6,000 words. Yang's article received great attention as it was as informative was it is long. Above all, it was written by a person who directly reports to Xi.
Yang is a member of the powerful Politburo of the Communist Party of China. He is also director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, which is the highest decision-making body on foreign policy in China. This is why Yang is referred to as the "general manager of Chinese diplomacy" by some media outlets. Some China watchers still remember the organization by its previous name, the Foreign Affairs Leading Small Group (FALSG).
Yang's article stands to represent the most authoritative deliberation on China's foreign policy toward the U.S. at a time when the U.S.-China conflict, which began with a trade war in 2018, is stretching beyond two years and heading into what some call "a new Cold War."
Yang began by reflecting on the historic meeting between Richard Nixon and Mao Zedong that opened 41 years of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China to date, and recounted the relationship between the U.S. and China in a historical context. The key points are as follows.
First, since the very beginning of normalizing Sino-American relations in the 1970s, the bilateral ties have been built on mutual understanding that both sides "recognize and respect different social systems." According to Yang, Nixon said in Beijing: "You believe in your system, and we believe in our system. We have gathered here not because we share a common faith, but because we share common interests…… We have no reason to be enemies."
In other words, the U.S. presumably accepted and embraced from the very outset, that China is a communist-controlled socialist country, and according to this logic. U.S.-China relations were going well. But then, why did the U.S. suddenly take issue with China's political system after Trump became president? This line of complaint is repeated in the remarks by other senior Chinese diplomatic officials.
Second, Yang explained in detail the increase in bilateral trade exchanges. The trade volume has increased more than 200-fold over the past 41 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China. It means to underscore that economic exchange benefits both countries. So, why the trade war?
Third, according to Yang, the American attempt to deprive the Chinese people of their right to economic development is "wishful thinking" (bai ri zuo meng) that cannot succeed. That means China's rise is an unstoppable trend and the U.S. cannot restrain China. Yang also argues that the fact that the Chinese economy is recovering better than expected in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis has fully demonstrated the strength of the Chinese economy. Yang argues that this is thanks to the leadership of the Communist Party of China and Chinese-style socialism, and that China has achieved great economic progress through its choice of development model, which is different from the Western development model.
Fourth, Yang says the United States should respect China's core interests. He lists Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet, Xinjiang, for instance. He also stressed that the Chinese government is "determined" to protect the interests of China's national sovereignty, safety and development. When it comes to "core interests," Xi Jinping also often stresses that China will not yield or make concessions ― no matter what. Yang argues that there is no reason for the U.S. and China to become "enemies," that China wants to normalize bilateral relations, and that doing so is in the national interest of the U.S. (To be continued)
Lee Seong-hyon (sunnybbsfs@gmail.com), Ph.D., is director of the Center for Chinese Studies at the Sejong Institute.
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