What signal is being released?, US, Canadian, British and Italian political leaders visiting China consecutively, within a week

From September 3rd to September 5th, Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Tajani will visit China. He is the fourth official from a G7 country to visit China in a week.

Over the past week, US Commerce Secretary Raymond, Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change Gilbert, and UK Foreign Secretary Cleverley have visited China successively. Raymond remains eye-catching as the fourth senior US official to visit China recently, and the visits of Gilbert and Cleverley also have special significance. Against the backdrop of long-standing strained relations between China and Canada, as well as between China and the UK, they are respectively the first Canadian Minister to visit China in four years and the first British Foreign Minister to visit China in five years.

In the relationship between Western powers and China, the two major powers of Germany and France in Europe always play the role of active contacts. The main leaders of the two countries have successfully visited China since the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China last year, but the UK and Canada seem to always "act according to the eyes of the United States" due to their closer relationship with the United States.

What signals does the successive visits of high-ranking officials from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Italy to China release? Scholars interviewed by Beijing Daily client reporters stated that although Raymond's visit to China has achieved results, they still need to be cautious about the future development of China US relations. Western powers such as Canada and the United Kingdom have long been aligned with the United States in terms of overall direction, but the need for pragmatic cooperation with China in other areas, especially in the economic and trade field, is also prominent.

Objectively and rationally viewing the development of China US relations

For Raymond, her long-awaited first visit to China after taking office can be considered a fruitful achievement. China and the United States have established a working group composed of vice ministerial and bureau level officials, with the participation of enterprise representatives, and have also launched an export control information exchange mechanism. Raymond met with several senior Chinese officials, including Premier Li Qiang. At the end of the visit, she summarized as follows: there were no setbacks; The greatest achievement was the initiation of regular communication between the two countries; We have taken a big step forward.

In fact, when the Chinese side announced the visit itinerary, Raymond's statement "at the invitation of Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce of China", which was different from Antony Blinken, Yellen and others who had been "agreed by China and the United States", reflected a special meaning.

Regarding this visit, the German newspaper "Business Daily" even commented that Raymond made a "reconciliation gesture" during his visit to China.

"Raymond himself said that the biggest achievement was the establishment of a dialogue mechanism. In addition, I think there was no obvious progress in other aspects." Yuan Zheng, deputy director of the Institute of American Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told reporters on the client side of the Beijing Daily that because the expectations of China and domestic public opinion on Raymond's visit to China were generally not high, her visit was more fruitful than Antony Blinken, Yellen and Kerry's previous visit. But in fact, just for Raymond, she has publicly stated on various occasions that the suppression of China's technology and economy is to curb China's catching up with the United States.

Yuan Zheng believes that we must objectively and rationally view the current relationship between China and the United States. Maintaining and promoting contact with China by the United States is a "normal operation" after the long-term interruption of face-to-face communication between the two sides due to the epidemic. In Yuan Zheng's view, frequent visits by US politicians to China also have a diplomatic warfare color, which is laying the groundwork for further interaction between the two sides this year and next year's US election.

UK strengthens pragmatic cooperation with China based on its own interests

Among the intensive visits of political figures from the four Western countries, the visit of British Foreign Secretary Cleverley was particularly eye-catching. The visit on August 30th, which lasted only one day and seemed rushed, was the first time the British Foreign Minister had visited China in five years.

China UK relations have gone through ups and downs in recent years. Just 8 years ago, then British Prime Minister Cameron used the term "golden age" to describe the relationship between the two countries.

During his hasty visit to China, Cleverley stated in Beijing that the UK must establish a pragmatic and rational working relationship with China, as these issues affect everyone around the world. On August 31st, the British Ambassador to China, Wu Ruolan, bluntly stated to Chinese media, "I am the British Ambassador to China, not the US Ambassador to China."

China and the UK announced the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership and an annual meeting mechanism between the two prime ministers in 2004. Wang Zhanpeng, Director of the UK Research Center at Beijing Foreign Studies University and Editor in Chief of the UK Development Report, told a Beijing Daily client reporter that China UK relations have unique characteristics, but the UK's attitude towards China is "two-sided" and often fluctuates. In recent years, this has been particularly evident as the British government has a practical need to strengthen cooperation in the field of economic and trade cooperation, but it is also constrained by the influence of domestic hardliners on China. He gave an example that in April of this year, Cleverley stated in a policy speech that the UK holds a positive attitude towards China's economic growth, development, and the prosperity of the Chinese people. China's healthy and sustainable development is in the interest of the world and conducive to global stability; In May of this year, British Prime Minister Sunak stated that he would not close Confucius Institutes, which was criticized by domestic hawks.

The UK is the guest of honor for the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services. In Wang Zhanpeng's view, this arrangement reflects the determination of China and the UK to attach importance to and improve bilateral relations. Although the influence of the UK has declined after Brexit, China has always held certain expectations for the UK. Based on its own interests and needs, the UK must also strengthen practical cooperation with China.

Western countries are accustomed to "aligning" with the United States

During the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development held in Beijing from August 28th to 30th, Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change Gilbert came to China as the Executive Vice Chairman of the Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development. He became the first Canadian ministerial level official to visit China since 2019.

Before the trip, Gilbert told the media that Canada and China are both major emitters and hoped that the two sides could have an open and frank dialogue on climate change issues.

"China and Canada have already had a tacit understanding in the field of climate change. Currently, both sides are also engaged in exploratory contacts." Yuan Zheng said that Canada actually emphasizes its own ideas in foreign relations and is not satisfied with its position in the current US Canada relationship. Therefore, Gilbert's visit is not necessarily just about "acting according to the eyes of the United States.".

However, Yuan Zheng admitted that due to the unshakable leadership of the United States in the Western world, Western countries have been accustomed to "aligning" with the United States in the overall direction for many years, otherwise they may face more pressure and even punishment. After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Europe, Asia, Japan, South Korea and other countries also believe that they need to follow the United States more closely.

Despite the relatively cold relationship between China and the UK, China still became the UK's second largest trading partner in 2022. Wang Zhanpeng stated that the active participation of the UK as a guest of honor in this year's Fair for Trade in Services further demonstrates the UK's attitude towards promoting economic and trade cooperation with China.