The rhythm of cooperation between Beijing and Washington is getting “stronger and stronger” – both at the government-to-government level and in the society of both countries – while their shared stake in the relationship is a “new normal”, according to a commentary published by the official Xinhua news agency on Sunday.
It was the fourth and latest in a series that started on Thursday about the “sustained, steady and sound” development of the bilateral relationship.
01:58
China denies accusations of state-sponsored hacking from US, UK and New Zealand
China denies accusations of state-sponsored hacking from US, UK and New Zealand
The language used in the series was in sharp contrast to that in a Xinhua article nearly two weeks earlier when it accused the United States of having a “friend or foe” mindset that would “lead nowhere”, and argued that the decline of American hegemony had become a “visible reality”.
“If we always maintain a ‘bright heart’ that seeks win-win for both nations and the world, China and the US will surely illuminate the path ahead and march towards a ‘brighter future’,” Xinhua said in the most recent commentary on Sunday.
The Chinese leader told them “China-US relations cannot go back to the old days, but they can embrace a brighter future”, while offering assurances Beijing would roll out more reform measures to improve the business climate in his country.
‘Rapid fraying’ of China-US ties seen in 2024, but full decoupling ‘unlikely’
‘Rapid fraying’ of China-US ties seen in 2024, but full decoupling ‘unlikely’
In a commentary published on Saturday, Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily also got on board to call for better China-US ties, framing win-win cooperation as the “underlying tone” of the relationship.
“Facing new developments and changes in China-US economic and trade relations in recent years, both sides must adhere to mutual respect, reciprocity and equal negotiation,” read the piece by Zhong Sheng – a homonym in Chinese for “the voice of China”.
“(China) is ready to work with the US together to promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-US relations.”
Still, the article once again blasted “decoupling” moves and warned of “confrontation and division” resulting from man-made barriers to technologies.
Beijing and Washington remain locked in a wide range of contests, from the Taiwan Strait and territorial flare-ups in the South China Sea to tit-for-tat trade restrictions amid a fierce tech war, as well as uncertainties from the US presidential election to come in November.
Yellen’s agenda during her visit to China this month will include challenging Beijing’s subsidies for clean energy industries with a warning about the risks of “excess capacity”.
The Biden administration last week revised rules on semiconductor exports to make it harder for China to access US artificial intelligence chips and chipmaking tools. The Chinese commerce ministry pushed back at the weekend, characterising the action as “arbitrary”, a reaction that came days after Beijing filed a complaint against US electric vehicle subsidies at the World Trade Organization.
34:00
‘Two sessions’: China’s economic and diplomatic challenges | Talking Post with Yonden Lhatoo
‘Two sessions’: China’s economic and diplomatic challenges | Talking Post with Yonden Lhatoo
In the state media series, Xinhua used its previous three commentaries on improving China-US relations to call on Washington to adopt a “correct strategic perception” of Beijing.
In the first piece on Thursday it said: “China never bets on the US losing, does not interfere in US domestic affairs, and has no intention of challenging or replacing the US. It welcomes a confident, open, and thriving US”.
In the following two articles, the agency called on the US and China to broaden and deepen their economic ties and urged them to have more people-to-people exchanges.
