*Commentary by Zhang Siyuan
President Xi Jinping met with US President Joe Biden in Lima, Peru, last month. During the meeting, Xi noted that over the past four years, China-US relations had gone through ups and downs, but the two sides had also been engaged in dialogue and cooperation, adding the relationship has remained stable on the whole.
Xi stressed that it was worthwhile to review the experiences of the past four years and draw inspirations from them. One of the most important was to match words with actions.
Credibility is valued in both Eastern and Western cultures and is a fundamental principle for communication among people and countries. George Washington, the first president of the United States, wrote in his personal code of conduct, the Rules of Civility: “Undertake not what you cannot perform, but be careful to keep your promise.”
For some time, the United States has repeated the same statements: It does not seek a new Cold War with China, does not seek to change China’s system, does not seek to revitalize its alliances against China, does not support “Taiwan independence,” and has no intention to have a conflict with China. It has also repeatedly professed that it does not seek to contain China’s development or to decouple from the country.
But how are these declarations of intent honored? Senior US officials have been pushing disinformation narratives such as the “China threat” theory, which describes China as the most significant challenge in US history, the “peak China” theory, and “Chinese overcapacity.”
At one point, the US House of Representatives introduced around 25 anti-China bills within just one week. The US Department of Homeland Security recently added 29 Chinese companies to the entity list of the so-called “Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.” The US government has recently hit China with more stringent export controls involving semiconductor manufacturing equipment, memory chips and other items. It has also added 140 Chinese entities to the export control entity list and expanded long-arm jurisdiction to interfere in trade between China and third countries.
The US government arranged a Hawaii “stopover” for Lai Ching-te of China’s Taiwan region and, almost simultaneously, announced new arms sales and military aid to China’s Taiwan region. Moreover, the US government is forming exclusive blocs against China, stoking confrontation, and smearing, slandering and scapegoating China on international and regional issues.
A big country should behave in a manner befitting its status. These actions by the United States are not what a responsible major country should do. They have damaged the credibility of the United States and the mutual trust between the two major countries and disappointed the international community.
The United States’ false perception of China is based on a hegemonic perspective. It has not changed its condescending attitude toward other countries. The United States actively seeks to contain China and expects to pacify it through “open lines of communication” so that it does not “overreact.”
China is focused on pursuing modernization for its people to live the life they deserve, rather than to contend with anyone for supremacy.
While meeting with Biden, Xi stressed that China’s goal of a stable, healthy and sustainable China-US relationship remains unchanged; its commitment to mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation as principles for handling China-US relations remains unchanged; its position of resolutely safeguarding China’s sovereignty, security and development interests remains unchanged; and its desire to carry forward the traditional friendship between the Chinese and American peoples remains unchanged.
China will not hinder the development of the United States, nor will it tolerate the United States obstructing the Chinese people’s pursuit of a better life.
The future of China-US relations will depend significantly on whether the United States can move in the same direction as China. Regarding China as a threat or challenge would be a strategic mistake and may lead to confrontation. If the United States develops a positive and rational perception of China’s development, it would lead to a stable, healthy and sustainable relationship.
Major-country competition should not be the underlying logic of the times; only solidarity and cooperation can help humanity overcome current difficulties. The United States should honor its words, implement the common understandings reached by the two leaders and work with China to maintain stability in the relationship. This will benefit both countries and the world. – Xinhua
*Zhang Siyuan is a Beijing-based commentator on international affairs, writing regularly for Xinhua News Agency, Global Times, China Daily, etc.
