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Wang Yi Raises Four Questions about the United States' China Policy
2022-09-23 23:35

On September 22, 2022 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivered a keynote speech on China-U.S. Relations at the headquarters of Asia Society in New York.

Wang Yi, the past few years have seen China-U.S. relations at a low ebb since the establishment of diplomatic relations. The reality of China-U.S. interdependence is ignored; the history of our win-win cooperation is misrepresented; channels of dialogue and communication are blocked. And the bilateral relationship is being defined and impacted dangerously by so-called strategic competition. This is bringing tremendous uncertainty to the future of our peoples and to countries across the world. China-U.S. relations have well exceeded the bilateral scope and carry implications for the whole world. Therefore, both Presidents agree that they should make the China-U.S. relationship work and not mess it up. They both believe the two countries should steer clear of conflict and confrontation. And they both stand for closer bilateral exchanges and cooperation.

But regrettably, the U.S. leader's political will of a stable bilateral relationship has yet to be translated into logical policies. The Chinese people and people from other countries would naturally raise the following questions:

How will the United States deliver on its promise of not aiming to change China's system, when it has framed a false narrative of "democracy versus authoritarianism", a narrative that takes aim at China's political system, development path and governing party?

How can a new Cold War be prevented, when the United States has, identifying China as the primary rival and the most serious long-term challenge, engaged in all-round containment?

How will the United States honor its important statement of not supporting "Taiwan independence" when it has, regardless of China's strong opposition, allowed its House Speaker to visit Taiwan again after 25 years, kept elevating substantive relations with Taiwan by repeated official exchanges and arms sales including many offensive weapons, and is advancing the deliberation of the "Taiwan Policy Act"?

How to keep the industrial and supply chains between China and the United States and of the world stable, when the United States prolongs the trade war with China, keeping in place the extra tariffs on 360 billion U.S. dollars of Chinese goods though ruled inconsistent with the WTO rules, and extending the list of Chinese companies under its sanctions?

Wang Yi noted, the United States has, on the one hand, made repeated provocations on issues involving China's core interests and development rights and interests, yet on the other, expressed a desire to keep bilateral relations stable and prevent conflict and confrontation. This is self-contradictory in both logic and reality. What is the crux of the matter? It boils down to how the United States perceives China, the world and itself. Should the United States handle its relations with China with a zero-sum mindset and continue to let "political correctness" misguide its China policy, it won't find solutions to its own problems, but lead China-U.S. relations to conflict and confrontation. The message we must send, loud and clear, is that now is the time to make serious reflections and get back onto the right track!

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