Foreign Policy:
On the Level
Although a consensus among observers is that the Biden administration is unlikely to reverse the anti-china agenda of the Trump administration, there were high hopes around the globe that the Us-china relationship could at least be stabilized. Such hopes quickly waned, if not evaporated, as the Alaska Summit held on March 19 between senior diplomats from the US and China opened with a public spat between the two sides. While US Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized China for its alleged “coercion and aggression” toward other countries, China's State Councilor and top diplomat Yang Jiechi said the US is “not qualified” to take a condescending attitude toward China.
For many observers, the unusual and unexpected exchanges marked a paradigm shift in the interaction between the world's two largest economies. Weeks after the Alaska summit, tensions between China and the US remain high. Washington, along with its European allies, imposed new sanctions on Chinese officials and entities over alleged human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Calling it an anti-china smear campaign, China retaliated with its own sanctions against Western individuals and entities.
While the US said it would work with NATO and the European Union to handle “common challenges posed by China,” China has been on a diplomatic drive in the past weeks to seek support among its own circles of friends.
Russia and the Middle East
On March 23, four days after the Alaska meeting, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi received his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Guilin, Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Reaffirming China's strategic ties with Russia, Wang said that China
Russia strategic cooperation has “no end and no upper limit.” Lavrov responded that Russia will continue cooperation with China in “all spheres.”
The next day on March 24, Wang embarked on a weeklong tour of the Middle East, visiting Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that Wang and his counterparts discussed regional affairs and strategic issues, the Belt and Road Initiative, pandemic responses and the post-covid economic recovery, as well as “promoting synergy between the building of a new development paradigm in China and major development strategies in those countries.”
The culmination of Wang's trip is a 25-year strategic cooperation agreement with Iran. “Relations between the two countries have now reached the level of strategic partnership and China seeks to comprehensively improve relations with Iran,” Wang told his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iranian state media reported.
In his meeting with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Wang unveiled a five-point initiative to achieve security and stability in the Middle East, which calls to advocate for mutual respect, uphold equity and justice, achieve non-proliferation, jointly foster collective security and accelerate development cooperation.
Saying that China-saudi relations have become “more prominent in the face of changes unseen in a century,” Wang called for the two countries to “conduct timely strategic communication, safeguard common interests and contribute to global peace, stability and development.
The crown prince, for his part, said Saudi Arabia firmly supports China's legitimate position on affairs related to Xinjiang and Hong Kong, opposes interference in China's internal affairs under any