The issue of the United States and China opening up new communication channels. Report | Insider | USA
According to the Financial Times website on August 4th, the United States and China are opening up new communication channels to resolve controversial issues. This is one of the signs that the US China relations have been moving towards stability since US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing in June.
According to three sources, the United States and China will establish two working groups to focus on issues in the Asia Pacific region and maritime issues. The two countries may also establish a third working group to focus on a wider range of areas.
Currently, the US China relationship is under tension due to a series of issues. China is concerned about the US's extensive alliance and strict export controls in the Indo Pacific region.US President Biden is also preparing to issue an executive order restricting American investment in industries with military purposes in China.
The report also stated that officials from the United States and China are expected to enrich the specific content of the relevant plans in the coming months.
The report believes that this move is a substantial progress towards the common goal set by the heads of state of the United States and China in Bali in November last year. The two capitals hope to set a bottom line for US China relations and prevent competition from escalating into conflict.
According to the report, a fourth insider stated that the United States and China are considering setting clear goals and resolving thorny issues through a series of talks.
Tang Weikang, Executive Partner of Asia Group in the United States, said, "In terms of restoring systematic communication on core issues rather than temporary communication, this arrangement will be the first real progress in recent years. It is a very important way to consolidate national security, and communicating intentions clearly with potential opponents through diplomatic channels can achieve both deterrence and assurance."
Previously, efforts to repair the relationship between the two sides were interrupted. Several months later, several senior US officials visited China, followed by the current discussion on establishing a working group. After the recent visit of US Treasury Secretary Yellen to China, US Commerce Secretary Raymond will also soon travel to China.
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"Strengthening communication with China on major issues related to war and peace is in the interest of the United States," said Gan Side, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in the United States
Ge Laiyi, a China expert at the German Marshall Foundation based in the United States, welcomes China's willingness to establish a working group with the United States, but she believes that whether the new channel can achieve practical results remains to be seen.
On June 28th, Chinese and American guests had a dialogue and exchange at the Local Cooperation Sub Forum of the 2023 "Gulingyuan" China US Folk Friendship Forum.
In addition, it was reported on the website of Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao on August 3 that, following the Chinese ambassador to the United States Xie Feng, Yang Tao, Director of the Department of North America and Oceania of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, also recently held talks with senior officials in charge of Asian affairs at the Pentagon. The United States once again stressed its commitment to maintaining the military exchange pipeline between the two sides. The interviewed scholars analyzed that diplomats cannot replace military communication mechanisms, and whether to resume military dialogue in the short term is still an indicator for observing changes in Sino US relations.
In addition, the report also stated that Bloomberg previously quoted informed sources as saying that US Commerce Secretary Raymond plans to visit China in late August.
If successful, this will be Raymond's first visit to China since serving as Minister of Commerce, and the fourth senior Biden administration official to visit China since June. The senior officials who visited China before were Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Finance Minister Yellen and Climate Envoy Kerry.
Huang Kui bo, Associate Professor of the Department of Diplomacy at National Chengchi University in Taiwan, believes that meetings between officials in the security fields of China and the United States, except for the defense sector, have gradually resumed, indicating that both sides hope for a relatively stable relationship. The indicators for observing the improvement of China US relations in the short term include not only whether defense officials have resumed contact, but also whether the frequency of meetings between the ambassadors of the two countries and senior diplomatic officials of the other country has increased.