Chinese President Xi Jinping stated their willingness to cooperate with the USA on the 25th of October, 2023.[1] Xi Jinping, stating the importance of cooperation to overcome the differences between two countries and to answer to global challenges, emphasized the vital importance of common appropriate agreement ground between the USA and China.[2] These statements supported the hopes for the meeting between Xi Jinping and his American counterpart Joe Biden this year.[3] As a precondition to this meeting of leaders’ level, Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi organized an official visit to Washington, D.C.
Xi Jinping defends the construction of bilateral relations on the ground of “mutual respect, to live in a peace and win-win cooperation”. According to scholars, Washington D.C. needs to take concrete and sincere steps in order to relieve China’s concerns. One of these steps is Californian Governor Gavin Newsom’s visit to China to discuss the climate cooperation. Beijing warmly welcomes this step and strives to establish bilateral ties on a solid and stable basis.
The tensions on US-China relations have intensified due to trade wars continued for twenty years and transformed to serious crisis in 2018. Attempts to repair relations suffered a serious setback after dangerous US diplomatic contacts with Taiwan in August last year. Later, when a Chinese balloon was shot down by the USA earlier this year, the atmosphere of trust in the relations was almost completely lost. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, whose visit to China was canceled during this period, was only able to meet with his Chinese counterpart in the summer months. In 2023 Washington has worked on to calm down the intense rivalry with China, while continued its military-diplomatic activities on Taiwan and South Chinese Sea.
The softening on bilateral relations and cooperation have impacted regional crises. For instance, Antony Blinken, emphasized cooperation with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to prevent the expansion of Israel-Hamas war. [4] Apparently, Washington wants Beijing to use its influence with other countries in the Middle East to prevent the conflict in question from escalating. Similar searches have been experienced in Russia’s nuclear use or North Korea’s dangerous missile tests. The Western World, and especially the USA, tends to see China as a mediator actor in order to restrain Russia and North Korea in the context of global competition. In this respect, the West actually needs China. This can also be explained by the USA’s efforts to keep its relations with China positive.
In September this year, Xi Jinping’s failure to attend the G20 Summit in India was interpreted as the end of the possibility of meeting with Joe Biden. The USA, which has been trying to keep dialogue channels open with China for a long time, has accelerated its diplomatic contacts in order to arrange a possible meeting between Xi and Biden in November. In this context, the parties are trying to develop a “sincere and constructive” dialogue before the Xi-Biden meeting. Global and regional security concerns, Russia-Ukraine War and developments in the Taiwan Strait occupies the agenda of bilateral relations. For the last year, US Department of Defense officials have been making efforts to restart the dialogue mechanism to prevent a possible crisis with China.
Washington maintains hope that its military communications with Beijing can be re-established. [5] China argues that the United States does not create a suitable atmosphere for dialogue. According to Beijing’s claim, the USA constantly acts aggressively. Despite all this tension, China always leaves the door open to dialogue in relations with the USA. However, it is debatable which side this dialogue is for. Because it can be predicted that the USA will want to create new crises in the region and the world in order to limit China in the long term.
The United States may also benefit from China’s moderate approach. More clearly, China’s pro-dialogue and cooperation attitude may pave the way for the United States to further advance its interests in the region. As a reminder, the USA remained in constant communication with China until the then Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi landed her plane in Taiwan on August 2, 2022. Thanks to its close dialogue with China, the USA managed to raise its image in the global arena. Therefore, China may not fall into this “trap” again, which it has fallen into in return for its dialogue and goodwill.
[1] “China Willing To Cooperate With US, Manage Differences – Xi”, Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-willing-cooperate-with-us-manage-differences-xi-2023-10-25/, (Erişim Tarihi: 25.10.2023).
[2] Same page.
[3] “Xi says China Willing To Cooperate With US As Hopes Rise For Talks With Biden”, The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/25/xi-says-china-is-willing-to-cooperate-with-us-ahead-of-potential-meeting-with-biden, (Erişim Tarihi: 25.10.2023).
[4] Same place.
[5] “Chinese Balloon Saga: China Confirms It Rejected US Offer Of Defence Minister Talks”, SCMP, https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3209662/chinese-balloon-saga-china-confirms-it-rejected-us-offer-defence-minister-talks, (Erişim Tarihi: 25.10.2023).
