The head of Chinese diplomacy reiterates Beijing’s priorities to the US Security Advisor. Trade restrictions imposed by Washington and Ukraine also delay the easing of tensions
Joe Biden could finally land in Beijing in November, when he will still be in office after the Americans have elected the new occupant of the White House, whether it be his vice president Kamala Harris or his Republican rival Donald Trump.
This was also discussed on Wednesday, August 28, by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Thus, the Democratic leader would not follow in the footsteps of his predecessor (and fellow party member) Jimmy Carter, who would remain the only US president not to have made a state visit to the People’s Republic of China.
Biden’s four years in the White House, however, have passed in a crescendo of tension, between hi-tech embargoes, sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine, up to the paroxysm caused by Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei on August 2, 2022, and the downing of a Chinese spy balloon in US skies on February 4, 2023.
Receiving Sullivan — who concludes his three-day visit to Beijing on Thursday — Wang reminded him that Taiwan “is the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations.” Wang added that the United States should “stop arming Taiwan and support the peaceful ‘reunification’ of China,” that “Taiwan belongs to China and that Taiwan independence is the greatest risk to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
The face-to-face meeting between Sullivan and Wang is part of the initiatives that should strengthen the “guardrail” planted by Biden and Xi during the summit in California on November 15. However, China and the United States have long since ceased to agree on things to do together, but simply on how to limit the damage of a relationship that has become toxic. Each time the two have met, they have spoken for about ten hours, about bilateral, regional and global issues. But the intent – White House sources report – is now limited to “clarifying misperceptions and preventing this competition from turning into conflict”.
A US National Security Advisor has been missing from the Chinese capital for eight years (Susan Rice was the last in 2016), one of the many signs of the growing difficulties that the so-called “strategic dialogue” between the rising power and the (former) hegemonic one is encountering on the most explosive issues that divide them: Taiwan, the war in Ukraine, the territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Some progress continues to be made in the joint fight against drug trafficking (in particular the chemical substances exported from China and used to produce the Fentanyl that is causing havoc in the US), in the dialogue between the heads of the respective armies, which had been suspended by Beijing after Pelosi’s “provocation”, and on artificial intelligence, in particular on its possible limitations in military applications.
600 companies on the blacklist
However, on the most burning global issues, Beijing and Washington are on two opposing fronts. Starting with the war in Ukraine, with Washington and NATO now openly accusing Beijing of supporting Moscow’s war apparatus.
Last weekend – just as Sullivan’s trip was being announced – the Department of Commerce added to its “Entity List” about 40 Chinese companies accused of shipping electronic components used in Russian weapons across the border, which will therefore no longer be able to do business with the US without prior authorization. The ban applies not only to technology made in the US, but also to technology from other countries that contains at least 25 percent of US added value and even that has simply passed through the US.
The number of Chinese companies on the Entity List has thus risen to over 600. In many cases, inclusion in the blacklist can have a devastating effect on the entities affected by the ban (including the giant Huawei), cutting them off from international trade, since third countries fear being indirectly victims of sanctions.
For this reason, Beijing protested the latest update of the Entity List, warning that it will “take necessary measures to firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.” Wang yesterday called on Washington to “stop jeopardizing China’s legitimate interests.”
Militarized Pacific
With the trade war between the United States and China, the militarization of the hotspots that oppose Beijing and Washington in the Pacific is also advancing. The Taipei government announced last week the construction of five new bases (four in the south and one in the east of Taiwan) that will be operational within three years and will host the anti-ship missiles “Harpoon” supplied by the United States to the island to protect it from a possible attack by the People’s Liberation Army.
Meanwhile, on Monday, the Chinese Coast Guard confronted two Philippine vessels that had “intruded” into waters off Sabina Shoal, in the third clash between Beijing and Manila vessels in a single week in the South China Sea.
A similar collision had occurred on August 19, when Washington had accused China of “reckless maneuvers” and reaffirmed its commitment to defend its ally in the event of a clash over the disputed territories.
On his WeChat profile, Zheng Yongnian argued that Asia risks becoming a powder keg that could trigger World War III. According to the influential academic from the University of Hong Kong – who blames the United States for the growing tensions in the region – all the key elements for this explosion are there: economic interests, US involvement, efforts to create an Asian equivalent of NATO, as well as China’s military modernization and nationalism.
