China 'fights and talks'

On May 25 (local time) in Washington (USA), US Commerce Minister Gina Raimondo and her Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao had bilateral talks.

Mutual concern

This is the highest-level direct dialogue between the two sides since the meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 Summit held in mid-November 2022 in Bali (Indonesia).

The two sides traded criticisms of each other's trade, investment and export policies, but the content of the dialogue was described by Minister Raimondo's office as "frank and substantive".

Specifically, Reuters quoted a statement from the US Department of Commerce as saying: "The two ministers had frank and substantive discussions on issues related to the US-China trade relationship, including the overall environment in both countries for trade and investment as well as potential areas of cooperation." Also according to the statement from the US Department of Commerce: "Secretary Raimondo also raised concerns about a series of recent actions by China against US companies operating in China."

The US and China have many disagreements, not just about trade.

In contrast, a statement from China’s Ministry of Commerce said that Minister Wang raised key concerns about US policies toward China, including semiconductors, export controls and foreign investment reviews. However, China also said that the two sides agreed to establish and maintain open channels of communication – which Washington said was aimed at “responsibly managing the relationship”. According to Beijing, the communication bridge will allow for discussions on specific economic and trade concerns and cooperation issues.

Minister Wang is expected to meet with US Trade Representative Katherine Tai on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) trade ministers' meeting in Detroit, Michigan, USA, which is scheduled to end on May 26 (local time).

Barriers remain

Responding to Thanh Nien on May 26, Professor Stephen Robert Nagy (International Christian University - Japan, scholar of the Japan Institute of International Affairs) commented: "Both Beijing and Washington realize that the current state of bilateral relations is not beneficial to either country. The meeting between the two ministers Gina Raimondo and Wang Wentao in Washington represents a modest effort to seek stable trade relations. This is necessary for Beijing to develop a stable socio-economic situation in the context of many challenges for China as it is today."

"Although this meeting is not enough to change the overall problems in the relationship between the two countries, any dialogue that promotes stability in economic relations can be the basis for cooperation and/or dialogue in other areas of mutual interest," Professor Nagy assessed, adding: "However, the challenge for Washington and Beijing is that domestic politics are dominated by concerns such as the "China threat" and "US containment strategy". Those concerns make it difficult for the two sides to find compromises to promote relations in a more positive direction."

Also responding to Thanh Nien on May 26, Professor Yoichiro Sato (international relations expert, Ritsumeikan Asia-Pacific University, Japan; Senior Scholar at the Yusof Ishak Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore) pointed out the deep trade problems between the two sides.

"Beijing has threatened the US that it will retaliate against the US removing Chinese companies from the global supply chain. Most notably, Beijing is taking measures to ban Micron (US) from selling chips in China. This threat comes after the US banned the export of advanced semiconductor chips to Chinese electronics companies and caused US allies to also restrict the export of manufacturing equipment and materials to China," Professor Sato pointed out.

He also commented: "China is trying to replace chip imports by supporting domestic enterprises to produce on their own. Therefore, banning Micron continues to create opportunities for Chinese companies to expand their market share in this country."

Responding to Thanh Nien recently, Ms. Bonnie S. Glaser (Director of the Indo-Pacific Program, German Marshall Fund in the US) assessed: "Both the US and China have interests in establishing channels of exchange, but the fundamental causes leading to the deterioration in the relationship remain unchanged."

In fact, Washington and Beijing still carry out many sanctions against each other.

Dialogue after many difficulties

Earlier this February, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was supposed to go to Beijing to meet with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang.

However, the trip was postponed indefinitely after the Pentagon said on February 2 that it was tracking an object suspected to be a Chinese spy balloon. Later, although China justified that the balloons were just "stray", the US still decided to shoot them down. As a result, relations between the two sides became tense and the US later provided more evidence confirming that the balloons were carrying spy equipment.

By the end of March, AFP quoted US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel as saying that Rick Waters, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for China and Taiwan and head of the Office for the Coordination of China Affairs, had visited Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. However, Spokesperson Patel declined to provide details about Mr. Waters' visit.

In another development, Reuters reported on May 25 that diplomat Waters left the above positions, although he remains a senior US diplomatic official.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/my-trung-vua-danh-vua-dam-185230526125051184.htm