China News Agency, Beijing, July 27 (Reporter Huang Yuqin and Li Jingze) After a series of dramatic preludes, senior diplomats from China and the United States have recently started a new round of contacts in Tianjin, China.

US Deputy Secretary of State Sherman visited Tianjin from the 25th to the 26th. This is the second time China and the United States are "under the line" after the dialogue in Anchorage, Alaska.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng in charge of Sino-US relations had more than four hours of talks with him. After that, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Sherman.

  Experts on international issues interviewed by China News Agency pointed out that facing the highest-level officials of the Biden administration to date, China has clarified its position on the United States and its bottom line more clearly and directly through one meeting, two lists, and three bottom lines. It refutes the U.S.'s wrong policies, words and deeds towards China, and also expresses its determination to defend its legitimate rights and interests.

  Before the talks, both China and the United States explained their understanding of the current bilateral relations and the talks through different channels.

The United States once again mentioned that it will deal with China based on its "power status", and this statement has been sternly refuted by China as early as Anchorage.

  Regarding the "old words and new mentions" of the United States, Wang Yi clearly responded before Sherman's visit to China. If the United States has not learned how to deal with other countries on an equal footing, "then we have the responsibility to work with the international community to give a good deal. The United States makes up this lesson."

  "The so-called starting from'power status' is an excuse to harm the interests of other countries. It is preaching that'power is axiom', and its proliferation will reduce the space for further dialogue between China and the United States." Ruan Zongze, executive vice president of the China Institute of International Studies, analyzed. China’s resolute refutation of this reflects that China attaches great importance to mutual respect and equality when handling relations with the United States. This is also China’s consistent position and principle.

  The outside world has noticed that compared to the old tune of "power status", the term "guardrail" has been the new U.S. term in the talks and a key point in the confrontation between the two sides.

According to the website of the US State Department, Sherman will propose to the Chinese side that "the US government welcomes competition with China, but it needs a level playing field and guardrails to prevent competition from turning into conflict."

  In the opinion of the interviewed experts, the proposal of the “guardrail” reflects that the United States still tends to use the “confrontation” in the “competition, cooperation, and confrontation” three-part method to handle Sino-US relations, and fails to distinguish between the mainstream and tributary of Sino-US relations. Still define China as a competitor and provoke confrontation.

  In this regard, Xie Feng specifically mentioned the term "guardrail" in the talks and emphasized that the United States claims to set up a "guardrail" for Sino-US relations to prevent and avoid conflicts. Such a code of conduct must be negotiated by both parties and must follow the principle of equality and mutual benefit. , Must be guided by safeguarding the interests of both parties, and must be binding on both parties, and it cannot be the United States unilaterally setting a boundary for China’s behavior.

  Diao Daming, an associate professor at the School of International Relations at Renmin University of China, said that the "guardrail" proposed by the United States should not cause conflicts that would make the United States pay more. It is more inclined to be the "guardrail" for the United States to safeguard its own interests, rather than the "guardrail" for Sino-US relations. ".

  He pointed out that China’s timely clarification of the concept reflects the desire to focus the relationship between the two parties in a framework with cooperation as the mainstream. The United States must be liberated from its own set of values ​​and discourses and face the common interests and responsibilities of China and the United States. The "guardrail" should be the cooperation between the two countries to safeguard the interests of both parties.

  During the Tianjin talks, China not only clarified its position by refuting the wrong statements of the United States, but also managed the differences between the two sides to prevent further decline and even loss of control in Sino-US relations, and to show the United States its bottom line principles.

  When meeting with Sherman, Wang Yi clearly put forward China’s three bottom lines, that is, the United States must not challenge, slander or even attempt to subvert the path and system of socialism with Chinese characteristics; the United States must not try to obstruct or even interrupt China’s development process; and the United States must not infringe upon China’s national sovereignty. , Let alone undermine the territorial integrity of China.

  For a long time, when China talked about relations with the United States, system, development, and sovereignty were all important concerns.

The outside world believes that from emphasizing China’s roads and systems as core interests that must be adhered to, to urging the United States to abolish all unilateral sanctions and high tariffs imposed on China as soon as possible, to reiterating Xinjiang-related, Tibet-related, Hong Kong-related, and Taiwan-related issues. The basic position, the bottom line drawn by the Chinese side once again conveys to the US the key areas where the two sides need to avoid conflict in the future.

  "The bottom line proposed by China is also a red line, and it is precisely because the United States continues to test on China's bottom line that the relationship between the two sides is now full of difficulties." Su Xiaohui, deputy director of the American Institute of the China Institute of International Studies, said that he respects each other's core interests and major concerns. It is an important prerequisite for the development of bilateral relations, and China’s timely clearing of the bottom line principle is also a key way to manage differences between the two sides.

  From Anchorage to Tianjin, every interaction between the two powers of the East and the West has triggered the outside world to predict the future direction of Sino-US relations.

Regarding the prospects of Sino-US relations, experts generally pointed out that the two lists proposed by the Chinese side at the Tianjin talks may be important cuts for observing future relations between the two sides.

  During the talks, China presented two lists to the U.S., one asking the U.S. to correct its erroneous policies, words and deeds toward China, and the other a list of key cases that China is concerned about.

The former involved 16 items such as stopping the suppression of Chinese companies, and the latter involved 10 items including the rejection of visas for some Chinese students studying in the United States.

  "China’s proposed list is a way to actively shape Sino-US relations. It no longer passively responds to the topic setting of the US, but takes the initiative to set topics to guide the negotiation process." Su Xiaohui said that China’s clear list can prompt the US to further understand the crux of the relationship between the two sides. , And provide the United States with specific measures to repair Sino-US relations.

  She believes that the turn of Sino-US relations will depend on whether the United States changes its wrong words and deeds. From the two lists to three bottom lines in one meeting, China will help to win the "window of opportunity" by clarifying its position and bottom line in the dialogue. China-U.S. relations stop the cliff-like downward trend and lay the foundation for further interaction between the two sides in the future.

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