On the morning of September 10, President Xi Jinping had a phone call with US President Biden at an appointment, and conducted
candid, in-depth and extensive strategic communications and exchanges
on Sino-US relations and related issues of mutual concern
.
This call is the 11th call between President Xi Jinping and a head of state or government in a month.
In addition to the 13th BRICS Summit just attended, President Xi Jinping has also attended three important international multilateral events via video in the past month.
This call is also the second time this year that President Xi Jinping had an appointment with US President Biden.
When CNN reported the news, it emphasized that it was the
United States that made the call on its own initiative.
The chaotic clouds fly over still calmly.
The diplomacy of the Chinese head of state has always been tightening the bond of global cooperation.
Regardless of whether the United States is sincere or otherwise thinking about cooperation, China will
take it lightly.
China-US relations are one of the most important bilateral relations in the world.
During the call, President Xi Jinping mentioned:
China and the United States are the largest developing countries and the largest developed countries respectively. Whether China and the United States can handle their relations well is at stake for the future and destiny of the world. It is the question of the century that the two countries must answer.
The cooperation between China and the United States can accomplish many major events that benefit both countries and the world.
When Biden took office, the international community had expectations for the improvement of Sino-US relations.
As a member of the first delegation to China sent by the US Congress, as early as 1979, the then Senator Biden came to China for the first time.
He mentioned in an internal speech that
China's development is beneficial to the United States
.
In 2011, Biden visited China again.
After that visit, Biden published an article in the US media: "The rise of China is not our end."
The article read: "China's rise has brought opportunities and competition, and the United States can and will flourish in this competition."
On New Year's Eve this year, during the first call between China and the US dollar in the first year, Biden also paid a New Year greeting to the Chinese people.
Authoritative sources told Master Tan that the call was initiated by the United States and the time was deliberately selected for the Spring Festival.
I expressed my sincerity at the beginning, but unfortunately, my
actions did not keep up with my thoughts
.
After Biden took office, Sino-US relations have gone further and further.
In recent months, the U.S. Congress has introduced more bills on China than ever before. In July alone, there were more than a dozen bills, and most of them recommended opposing or restrictive policies.
The United States' suppression and containment of China is even worse than in the past.
The United States
runs counter to the
initial positive posture
.
The international community’s expectations for the improvement of Sino-US relations have failed.
Investigating the reason, Wu Xinbo, director of the American Studies Center of Fudan University, told Master Tan:
"The U.S. has made a major strategic misjudgment of China. The U.S. regards China as its main strategic competitor. It feels that what China does is aimed at the U.S., it is weakening the U.S. leadership, and it wants to dominate the international order."
Let the storm rise.
Chinese soldiers came to block, and water came to cover.
As early as the beginning of the year, President Xi Jinping gave the key to "breaking the ice" of Sino-U.S. relations:
China and the United States will have different views on some issues. The key is to respect each other and treat each other as equals.
On March 18 this year, China was invited to Anchorage to hold a China-US high-level strategic dialogue with the United States.
The day before the dialogue, the United States once again escalated its so-called sanctions against China on the Hong Kong issue.
In response, Foreign Minister Wang Yi responded in the dialogue: This is not a normal way of hospitality.
If the U.S. wants to use this to enhance its so-called advantage over China, it is completely miscalculating, and it just exposes its inner weakness and powerlessness.
On the one hand, it talked about cooperation and on the other hand contained and suppressed. China first broke the US
illusion that it
wanted to take all the
good things out and the bad things outright.
In July, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Sherman visited China. The U.S. followed small tricks and wandered around Southeast Asian countries in an attempt to win over allies.
The Chinese side directly drew a red line in the talks, made a request, clarified the "two lists" and the "three bottom lines", and clearly stated that it would not accept the United States to deal with China from its "power status."
Recalling the embarrassing scene that the United States spent half of the time discussing China at the previous G7 summit without any response, China once again broke the
illusion
that the United States
suppressed China while creating its allies to dominate Sino-US relations
.
Wu Xinbo told Master Tan:
"China’s attitude is very clear. The U.S.’s “competition, cooperation and confrontation” framework does not work. The “two lists” and the “three bottom lines” are to establish a new framework for Sino-U.S. interaction. The only way is to respect China’s core concerns and major issues. Only with interests can we talk about cooperation and be able to compete extensively."
Time and situation are already on China's side.
A big country should look like a big country.
During the call, President Xi Jinping mentioned:
At present, the international community is facing many common problems. China and the United States should show the big picture, shoulder great responsibilities, insist on looking forward, move forward, show strategic courage and political courage, and push Sino-US relations back to the right track of stable development as soon as possible. It will better benefit the people of the two countries and the people of all countries in the world.
At the time of this call, the cumulative number of confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in the United States this year has exceeded that of last year.
Hurricane Ida is still harassing, and New York and New Jersey are also entering a state of emergency.
△ Louisiana, USA, the local disaster area affected by Hurricane Ada
Withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, all the feathers have caused Biden's approval rating to drop to its lowest level since he took office.
According to a joint survey conducted by Reuters and Ipsos, Biden’s approval rating has dropped by seven percentage points, and only 46% of American adults approve of Biden’s performance in office.
△ Reuters and Ipsos polls: Americans gave Biden low scores on the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan
Many crises have issued a
"red alert"
, and the United States' attitude toward China is undergoing subtle changes.
In this regard, Wu Xinbo used one word to summarize:
Respectful before and after
.
After Biden took office, he was deliberately indifferent to China at first, saying in name that he needed to evaluate his China policy, but in fact he was busy dealing with some allies and downplaying relations with China.
Since May, the United States has been unable to sit still, and exchanges with China have
become more frequent
.
First, the US Trade Representative, the US Secretary of the Treasury and other members of the US economic and trade team began to talk to China one after another; in July, the US Deputy Secretary of State Sherman offered to visit China; in August, Foreign Minister Wang Yi also called the US Secretary of State Brinken twice.
Parallel to the increase in the frequency of exchanges,
the predicament
of the United States'
domestic and foreign affairs has
gradually deepened.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen warned not long ago that the tariffs still imposed on China have hurt American consumers.
And the U.S.'s delayed tariffs are pushing up U.S. inflation.
The inflation level in the United States in the first half of the year was once the highest in the past 13 years.
An intriguing detail is that Bloomberg also released news in August that U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen is considering a visit to China. This may be the first face-to-face economic talks between Chinese and American officials since the Biden administration took office.
△ Yellen is considering visiting China. This will be her first visit to China since taking office as Minister of Finance
Routines are still fictitious.
But the United States, which originally only emphasized competition, also began
to have to show a more rational and pragmatic attitude than before
.
In this call, the United States once again released a signal of active dialogue and cooperation.
The reason behind it, President Xi Jinping mentioned in his last phone call with Biden:
Sino-US confrontation is definitely a disaster for the two countries and the world
.
During this call, President Xi Jinping also reiterated:
Sino-US confrontation will suffer both the two countries and the world
.
Recently, the Brookings Institution, a think tank with global influence, also published an article: "New Changes in Sino-US Relations: Increasing Competition and Deepening Dependence."
The conclusion is clear. Although the United States is strengthening its competitive orientation with China, its dependence on China is gradually deepening.
Sino-US relations are not a multiple-choice question of whether to do a good job, but a must-answer question of how to do a good job
.
However, it is
necessary to tie the bell to untie the bell
.
As Foreign Minister Wang Yi said when he met with the US President’s special envoy on climate issues, Kerry said: Now the ball is on the US side.
The country that is gradually losing its global credibility is the United States. If the United States really wants to cooperate, it can only let go of its "status" first, face reality, and start an open dialogue with China.
It is impossible and unrealistic to put labels at will and try to lead China by the nose.
China will only go its own way.
The first call between China and the US dollar covered a wide range of topics, including climate change, epidemic prevention and control, economic recovery, and major international and regional issues.
These issues are frequently mentioned by President Xi Jinping in the diplomacy of the head of state.
Since the beginning of this year, President Xi Jinping has attended
more than 10
important international multilateral and bilateral events
through video
.
This is the self-confidence of major power diplomacy, and it is also the mind of a self-reliant person.
At the 13th meeting of the leaders of the BRICS countries just before this call, President Xi Jinping announced that China will donate another 100 million doses of vaccine to developing countries during the year.
At the just-convened meeting of Afghanistan’s neighboring foreign ministers, Foreign Minister Wang Yi also announced that China has decided to urgently provide Afghanistan with 200 million yuan worth of food, overwintering materials, vaccines and medicines.
The epidemic has not blocked the pace of China's cooperation. On the contrary, the world understands the profound connotation of a shared destiny more than ever.
During this call:
President Xi Jinping expounded China's position on climate change and other issues, emphasizing that China adheres to the ecological priority, takes the green and low-carbon development path, and has been proactively assuming international responsibilities consistent with its own national conditions.
As early as last year, China had already given a detailed timetable for green contributions.
President Xi Jinping announced at the 75th United Nations General Assembly that China will strive to achieve a carbon peak by 2030 and strive to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality by 2060.
This means that China will become the country with the largest reduction in global carbon emission intensity, and it will take the shortest time in global history to achieve carbon peak to carbon neutrality.
China’s contribution to green development is not insignificant. More importantly, China has its own rhythm.
On September 3, Kerry, the US President’s special envoy for climate issues, concluded his second visit to China during the year.
Once again exchanges with China on climate issues, it is worth noting that China and the United States did not reach a joint statement this time.
The reason behind this, Wu Xinbo explained to Lord Tan:
"On the climate issue, China uses the Paris Agreement as its principle, not the United States' requirements. Therefore, if the United States asks China on climate change issues, China will naturally ignore it."
Cooperation can be discussed, but it is by no means arrogant.
The prerequisite for Sino-U.S. climate cooperation, President Xi Jinping also made it very clear during the call:
On the basis of respecting each other's core concerns and properly managing differences, relevant departments of the two countries can continue to engage in dialogue.
The United States has always hoped that climate change cooperation can become an "
oasis
" in
Sino-US relations
, but if the "oasis" is surrounded by "deserts", the "oasis" will sooner or later be deserted.
In other words, Sino-US climate change cooperation cannot be separated from the overall environment of Sino-US relations.
Faced with the unsolved "question of the century" and mandatory questions in Sino-US relations, China has already given its own plan.
What does the United States answer? China is
watching the changes.