Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai. Photo: Xinhua

 

Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai on Thursday called for a reflection on China-US relations which are essential to a stable post-pandemic world and effective global governance, which observers believed sent another strong signal to US president-elect Joe Biden and his team that now is the time to repair ties and resume bilateral conversation mechanisms. 

China has expressed goodwill on multiple occasions, including top leaders' well-timed congratulatory messages; the ball is in the US' court now, analysts said, warning that without mutual efforts, the current US administration's actions could make bilateral ties too far to return to the right track.    

Cui noted that fast and complex changes in the world have brought about great opportunities as well as high risks. Any attempts to incite distrust and even hatred among different nations and civilizations are extremely irresponsible. Those who are obsessed with great power rivalries already have their feet in the trap, Cui said in his address to the annual conference of the Institute of China-US Studies.

Professor Allison Graham had warned about Thucydides trap but "nothing is written in stone," Cui said, noting everything depends on the choices made. "We have to have a shared vision for the future and make the right choice," Cui stressed.

Before January 20, China is prepared to work with current US administration and it's never too late to do the right things. "Let's seize the day, seize the hour." Communication and policy coordination will Biden team will be done at an appropriate time, Cui said during a discussion panel of the annual conference.

When asked whether China will allow the re-opening of the US consulate in Chengdu, Cui said the shutdown was a response to an action initiated by the US. "If the US govt is ready to reverse course, we are ready to look at it." The US Consulate General in Chengdu was closed on July 27.

Chinese observers viewed Cui's address as a strong signal to the Biden team to cast aside current conflicts and meet China halfway on the cooperation path.

Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing, told the Global Times that voices calling for cooperation before the US' power transition are China's consistent practice, but it is of special importance after the devastation of bilateral ties in the past four years. 

Cui's remarks were not the first time that China expressed that China and the US should cast aside their past conflicts and loggerheads to keep bilateral relations on a constructive track to benefit people from both countries as well as the global community.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on November 25 sent a "well-timed" congratulatory message to Joe Biden after the White House started its transition of power process, where Xi expressed hope that China and the US "will uphold the spirit of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, focusing on cooperation and managing differences." 

China US Photo: Xinhua

Fu Ying, former Chinese vice foreign minister, published an article in the New York Times titled, "Cooperative Competition Is Possible Between China and the US," proposing a way forward for the world's two leading powers. 

China has sent goodwill on multiple occasions; therefore, it is time for Biden's team to show their sincerity for managing conflicts and resuming conversation, but so far there is no clear sign that Biden has picked up the olive branch, analysts said. 

Ni Feng, director of the Institute of American Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday that Biden's "coldness" is partly a result from the complexities of domestic politics.

"The power transition started late and faced barriers, and a Republican-led Senate also restrained him from accelerating the process and carrying out his policies," Ni said.

Li pointed out that dealing with his country's epidemic and economic recovery would be the most urgent task for Biden, without which he might fail the test of mid-term elections. It would also be an area the two major countries could cooperate on and benefit the world.

China will also be a key player in the global economic recovery and climate change which are two important areas on the Democrats' agenda, Li said.

Biden has vowed to curb the domestic spread of the coronavirus which has infected more than 14 million Americans so far. He also planned to bring the US back to the Paris Climate Accord as early as February, media reported.

Observers believe Biden would take "milder" tactics toward China while keeping the confrontation strategy, leading to "coldness" to Chinese messages. 

Biden will not make a U-turn from Trump but evaluate what kind of policy package he should come up with after reaching a consensus within his cabinet, Ni said.

"No positive response is evidence of a hard-line stance," Ni said, noting the president-elect, with an experienced foreign policy team, also wants to use his coldness as leverage to gain the US more benefits, including maintaining tariffs and drawing its alienated allies back, namely Europe. 

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization recently proposed to expand targets to include China, which was seen as a US-dominant trick to woo its allies back, ignoring four years' destruction from the "America first" principle. 

The olive branch will not always be there. Experts therefore urged for a quick resumption of damaged and halted conversation mechanisms to discuss, manage conflicts and communicate on cooperation.

"From high-level interactions to personnel exchanges...it requires further observation on how Biden's team would act during the transition period and after taking over, but it should be done as soon as possible," Li said.

China-US relationship cannot go back to the past, and the same can be said about US relations with its allies, Ambassador Cui said in response to Biden's foreign policy of "getting alliances in order."

Newspaper headline: Cui signals Biden to resume conversation