China questioned Biden’s desire to improve relations with Beijing

Even though the US ambassador to China issued a message that Washington was willing to negotiate with Beijing in apparently mild rhetoric, rejecting the Cold War between the world’s two largest economies and calling “decoupling” unhealthy and “unwise”, some Chinese observers said on Wednesday that China should not be seduced by these “beautiful words” as the key to changing the downward spiral of US-China relations lies in whether the United States government has the political will to improve bilateral ties and put its words into practice.

U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said in a speech on Tuesday that the United States is ready to hold high-level talks with China and wants to establish better channels of communication between the two countries, Global Times writes in Beijing.

US relations with China remain “complex” and competitive, but Washington does not seek conflict with Beijing and believes continued dialogue would be constructive, Ambassador Burns said.

Nicholas Burns’s remarks are seen as “follow-up” comments made after some senior US officials have elaborated on the US-China relationship, which is seen as the most important and complex. After U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on April 20 that the two countries “can and should find a way to live together,” U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told the Brookings Institution on April 27 that the U.S. is not seeking to “separate” its economy from the Chinese.

“Yellen, Sullivan and Burns all stressed the importance of dialogue, but they made no mention of correcting the mistakes of the Biden administration, such as the US-led trade war or technological restrictions against China,” said Lu Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

This shows that, on the one hand, the US government has no clear intention to retract its misdeeds, on the other hand, it also has concerns that China will take countermeasures if they continue to exert much more pressure on issues such as Taiwan, Xinjiang , the South China Sea, etc., notes Lu Xiang. “Burns’ remarks serve to ‘test the waters’ to see to what extent China will adapt to their policies,” the expert emphasizes.

US-China relations have become more tense, especially after the US shot down a Chinese civilian air probe in February, which was described by Chinese diplomats and experts as “hysterical and absurd.” According to US media reports, after the airship incident, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s announced visit to China was canceled, although the Chinese side did not confirm such a visit.

According to Global Times, in early April, US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met in California with Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen, who was visiting the US under the guise of a “transit”. This incident also caused strong opposition from the Chinese side, as it was a serious provocation from Washington, which violated the “one China” principle.

The US can’t say those “sweet words” while stabbing China in the back, some Chinese experts said, who believe Beijing has little interest in engaging with Washington now, given that Washington’s actions have always contradicted its words. The US has yet to fulfill its commitment made by US President Joe Biden during a meeting with China’s top leadership on the sidelines of the G20 leaders’ summit in Bali in November 2022, writes the Global Times.

Burns said Tuesday that the US government has been consistent in its approach to the island of Taiwan, insisting that any settlement of the Taiwan Strait dispute must be peaceful.

“The US needs to see if US-China relations improve in a short amount of time. Instead of saying these ‘beautiful words’, the US needs to prove through concrete action that it is ‘not the biggest talker who always does the least’,” he said. Chinese University of Foreign Affairs professor Li Haidong told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Earlier, Ambassador Burns visited the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, where he met with Chinese scholars, including the director of the center, Wu Xingbo. Wu Xingbo told Global Times that he stressed during the meeting that “the window of opportunity for improving Sino-US relations this year is slowly closing, that is, time is running out.”

“There are two main areas: one is the Taiwan issue. The US should not say one thing and do another, but should return to its “one China” policy. The other is that the US should not take these “decoupling” measures and introduce technological blockade against China,” Wu Xingbo emphasizes.

“It is not clear whether Washington really wants to engage in dialogue with Beijing or whether it simply intends to create this false image of managing the strategic rivalry with China and putting it under control in front of its allies,” said Li Haidong, who believes that any change in rhetoric will not hide the true US intentions towards China. “disconnection” from the key directions of its policy towards China, which is aimed at creating confrontation and division.

“It also depends on how much political will the Biden administration has to improve bilateral ties. Burns may have some kind of positive statement about US-China relations, but these words have limited impact on the Biden administration,” Wu Xingbo said.