US urged to do more to mend ties

Huawei CFO’s release must be followed up with other actions, officials and experts say

Beijing has made clear that if Washington wants to get bilateral ties back on track, the key is to “take concrete actions” and return its China policy to a reasonable and pragmatic one.

This message was delivered by State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a video meeting on Sept 27 with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

A number of issues straining China-US ties remain to be resolved by Washington, and the recent release of Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou is just a start for repairing relations, officials and experts said.

Guterres expressed concerns earlier this month over the ties between the world’s two largest economies. During his latest interaction with Wang, China-US ties and global governance were high on the agenda.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki stated on Sept 27 that US policy toward China “has not changed” and that “we’re not seeking conflict”.

Wang noted the same day that Washington has recently said that it does not expect confrontation and a Cold War with China.

If the US fulfills its pledges, China is willing to work with it toward the same goal, make joint efforts on the future trajectory of China-US ties and achieve a satisfying outcome on the bilateral relationship, Wang said.

He noted that faced with Washington’s “arbitrary suppression, smears and attacks”, Beijing has no choice but to stand up.

And by doing so, China is also safeguarding the fundamental norms of international relations, global fairness and justice, and the common interests of fellow developing countries, Wang added.

On Sept 28, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying urged Washington to pull more “thorns” out of the relations, following Meng’s release.

“As the US has implemented (a) wrong policy toward China for some time, there are many other ‘thorns’ in China-US ties, large and small,” Hua said.

Requesting Meng’s release was a part of the two lists China proposed to the US during a meeting of their senior diplomats in Tianjin in July.

One of the two lists deals with “US wrongdoings that must stop”, while the other is a list of “key individual cases that China has concerns with”.

Hua urged Washington to move substantially to address all the items on the two lists.

In July, Beijing also officially asked Washington not to cross the line in three areas — China’s political system, development and sovereignty.

Diao Daming, an associate professor of US studies at Renmin University of China, said the two lists and the three no-go areas “have already made clear the next steps for the bilateral ties”.

“The US should start with the lists and areas if it looks to stabilize China ties. We’ve seen little US action recently,” Diao said.

Meng’s return “shows that there is no problem that cannot be solved between China and the US” as long as Washington takes a rational, pragmatic approach to resolve differences, he added.

“Positivity will prevail in bilateral interaction if the US takes tangible actions. If Washington continues with its indifferent attitude, China will have to continue pushing back also,” Diao added.

China’s ambassador to the US, Qin Gang, said at a forum on Sept 23 that “China will continue to expand opening-up, continue to do business with the world, and promote technology and trade cooperation with the US side”.

“The US side also needs to create conditions, instead of barriers, for our cooperation,” he added.

On Sept 27, Foreign Minister Wang also had a video meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. During the meeting, Wang criticized some NATO members for sending warships and warplanes on missions on China’s doorstep in recent years.

Stoltenberg said NATO does not see China as an adversary, and that the bloc is willing to develop constructive relations with China on the basis of mutual respect and without any preconditions.