Yesterday’s visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China marks a watershed moment in very tense relations between China and the United States. Blinken discussed with his counterpart Wang Yi the most contentious issues between the two countries. He also met with Xi Jinping who expressed his desire for partnership with the United States rather than seeing the two countries engage in “vicious competition”. However, beyond the fine words, China’s international actions signal anything but moderation. If Xi Jinping had truly sought a partnership with the United States, he would have had many, many opportunities to show it. Blinken appears to have communicated to Chinese leaders the exasperation of the American government on several issues, from Chinese exports of molecules used to manufacture fentanyl to Beijing’s support for Moscow, including its growing pressure on Taiwan. For lack of progress, Blinken threatened China with significant retaliation.
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1) Why would the Chinese government change its policies?
American leaders hope that China’s very difficult economic situation will prompt Xi to moderate his actions on several international issues. High youth unemployment, sluggish real estate sector and low domestic consumption, to name just a few problems, are weighing down the country’s economy. Furthermore, China’s vast trade surpluses worry the United States, Europeans and other Chinese trading partners, as well as many Latin American countries. All are considering taking protectionist measures against China.
2) What does the American government blame the Chinese government for?
The American list of complaints is long. Just yesterday, Bliken announced that he had seen evidence that the Chinese government was influencing the American elections, and even possibly interfering. Blinken provided China with a list of Chinese components used in the manufacture of Russian weapons. China’s electronic espionage and hacking have also become real scourges. China’s maritime territorial claims worry China’s neighbors as much as the United States.
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3) What does China accuse the United States of?
The Chinese government mainly criticizes the United States for its support for Taiwan. He believes that Washington is trying to establish a sort of military and economic cordon santé around China. Generally speaking, he believes that U.S. intelligence is trying to bring down the Chinese Communist Party.
4) Why have relations between the United States and China deteriorated?
The loss of American confidence in China dates back to the Tian’anmen massacres in 1989. Since then, certain events, such as China’s entry into the WTO or Beijing’s support for the fight against Islamist terrorism, had softened the relations between the two countries. But Xi’s rise to power and his Maoist-inspired radicalism did much to strain Sino-American relations. Xi persecuted the Uighurs, violated the Hong Kong treaty, militarized the China Sea, accelerated the build-up of the Chinese army, implemented a policy of economic self-sufficiency, lied about COVID-19, supported Russia, consolidated his dictatorship and pushed his country into totalitarianism.
5) What are the hopes for an improvement in relations between the two countries?
As long as Xi and his gang remain in power, hopes for improvement are dim. At best, Sino-US relations will stabilize. But the American government seems to have run out of patience.
