Africa -China Review Africa -China Cooperation and Transformation
Published: March 16,2022
By Gerald Mbanda
The hall of Jinjiang Hotel in east China’s Shanghai, the birthplace of the “Shanghai Communiqué”. Photo taken on Feb. 23, 2022 (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)
On Monday, March 14, China and US senior diplomats met in Rome-Italy, to discuss on improving bilateral relations between the two countries which is currently rated at all-time low. Talks between Senior Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi and US National Security advisor Jake Sullian were described as, “candid, in-depth and constructive communication,” on bilateral ties and “the Ukraine issue, the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, the Iran nuclear issue and the Afghanistan issue,”according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Yang Jiechi who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee,stressed that China and the U.S. should strengthen dialogue and cooperation, properly manage differences and prevent conflict and confrontation under the current international situation.
Although the Rome meeting is considered very important in China – US relations, happening at a back drop of the Russia-Ukraine war, there were no details indicating specific concerns on both sides regarding the war, yet there are contentious issues that have restrained relations. A white house dispatch simply mentioned that the officials had a “substantial discussion” on the Ukraine crisis, but did not elaborate. It also mentioned that the two officials “underscored the importance of maintaining open lines of communication between the United States and China.”
What is known is that before the Russia-Ukraine war, the US ‘warned’ China against providing support to Russia against Ukraine. According to media reports, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that, “We are watching very closely the extent to which the PRC [the People’s Republic of China] or any country in the world provides support – material, economic, financial, rhetorical, otherwise – to this war of choice that President [Vladimir] Putin is waging” against Ukraine. “And we have been very clear – both privately with Beijing, publicly with Beijing – that there would be consequences for any such support,”Price added.
China dismissed claims that it was supporting Russia, calling it disinformation. “The US has been spreading disinformation targeting China on the Ukraine issue, with malicious intentions,” foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, said on Sunday. During the Rome talks on Monday, Chinese diplomat Yang, made it clear thatBeijing “resolutely opposes any words and deeds that spread false information,” about its position on Ukraine.
China’s foreign policy is long known to be of respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and non-interference in their internal affairs. Yang told his American counterpart during the talks, that China believes, “it is important to straighten out the historical context of the Ukraine issue” and called for talks to “set up a balanced, effective and sustainable European security framework based on the principle of indivisible security.”
It should be noted that last month, China abstained from a UN Security Council proposal that aimed atcondemning Russian military incursion in Ukraine, a move that must have angered the Biden administration and interpreted as China’s support of Russia war against Ukraine. China’s stand of the Russia-Ukraine war is that dialogue is more important to end the crisis and urged restraint in the conflict.
It is commonly said that history is a good teacher, butthe US has refused to take lessons from it in its chosen path of dealing with China. On February 28, 1972, a historic Shanghai communiqué was issued, and was considered as the political foundation for the establishment of China-US diplomatic relations. The most remarkable significance of the Shanghai Communique is that China and US despite huge differences agreed to shelve differences and seek common ground in order to move bilateral relations in the right direction.
Although the US authorities during bilateral engagements agree to abide by certain principles, overthe years they choose do the opposite. What they saypublicly in most cases contradicts what they do in practice. From February 21 to 28, 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon was in China for talks with Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong. Henry Kissinger who had accompanied Nixon on the China historic trip latter wrote in his memoir that, “neither the U.S. nor China was willing to let the Taiwan issue become an obstacle to their emerging new relationship.”
Despite the commitments of the three Sino-U.S. joint communiqués, in which US recognizes that there is only one China and that the one-China principle is the cornerstone for establishing China-US diplomatic ties, the question of US trying to meddle in China internal affairs on Taiwan still remains top on the agenda of engagements between the two countries.
Again, the Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet issues are cited by the US as their concerns, yet these are sovereign territories of China. Political analysts wonder why US authorities claim to love Chinese people more in Taiwan, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet, than their Chinese leaders who have a constitutional mandate to protect them.
Last November, when President Xi Jinping had a virtual meeting with US President Joe Biden, Xireminded that mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation should be the three principles for developing China-US relations in the new era. This was not the first time China mentioned this to USauthorities. Although President Biden publicly said that, his administration does not support “Taiwan independence,” or seek confrontation with China,” the writing on the wall reads different.
Since 1972, the US selectively chooses to forgeteverything on the agreed principles of maintaining healthy bilateral relations, and also chose to learn nothing new on respecting China’s sovereignty and independence in handling and executing its own affairs. Simply put, from the Shanghai communiqué to Rome talks, US leaders have changed but the political attitude towards China has remained constant. No change. Will China-US talks go on for another 50 years, expecting to get the same results or there is a new world order in the making with the Russia-Ukraine war as the precursor?
Gerald Mbanda is a publisher and researcher on China-Africa relations
