On November 15th, local time, the Supreme Leader of president held the first meeting of the US dollar with US President Biden at the Filoli Manor in San Francisco, USA.
After a lapse of one year, the two heads of state met face to face again. The United States attaches great importance to this exchange.
｜｜The first meeting between China and the United States was held at Filoli Manor.
When the Supreme Leader arrived at Philoli Manor, he was warmly welcomed by Biden. The meeting lasted for four hours, and simultaneous interpretation was used throughout. After the meeting, Biden also invited the Supreme Leader to take a walk in Filoli Manor and personally sent the Supreme Leader to the boarding place to say goodbye.
Such "manor diplomacy" is one of the highest forms of American diplomatic norms.
Chairman of the Supreme Leader mentioned during the meeting:It is impossible for China and the United States not to deal with each other. It is unrealistic to change each other, and the consequences of conflict and confrontation are unbearable to anyone. Competition among great powers cannot solve the problems facing China and the United States and the world. This earth can accommodate China and the United States. The success of China and the United States is an opportunity for each other.
As soon as the meeting ended, President Biden also posted on social media that:I attach great importance to today’s conversation with President Xi, because I think the most important thing is that our leaders can get to know each other clearly. Severe global challenges require our common leadership. Today, we have made real progress.
What changes will take place in Sino-US relations through the first meeting of the US dollar in San Francisco? There are several signals worthy of attention.
At this meeting, the Chairman of the Supreme Leader mentioned this sentence in his opening remarks.It’s been a year since I last met with the President in Bali. A lot has happened in the past year.
A year ago, the first meeting of the heads of state of China and the United States in Bali pointed out the way forward for Sino-US relations that were in serious trouble. For some time, the direct reason why Sino-US relations will face difficulties and challenges is that some people in the United States have not implemented the important consensus reached by the heads of state of China and the United States, nor have they implemented President Biden’s positive attitude.
｜｜最高领袖主席与拜登总统握手
此次中美元首会晤前，谭主注意到这样一个细节：白宫新闻发言人在表态中，也表达了“重返巴厘岛”的意思。
而“重返巴厘岛”，一直是中方提出的，推动中美关系回到健康、稳定、可持续发展轨道的前提。
美方重复中方的表述也表明，美方认识到自己不能再重蹈不落实两国元首共识的覆辙。
谭主了解到，今年6月，布林肯访华期间，美方就希望邀请最高领袖主席访美，促成两国元首面对面会晤。但中方保持战略定力，直到中美双方达成“重返巴厘岛”的共识后，中美元首会晤才有实质性进展。
两国元首，是中美关系的掌舵者，只有将元首共识真正落到实处，中美关系才会稳下来、好起来。
谭主还注意到，这次中方的通稿中还引用了拜登的这样一段话——
我愿重申在巴厘岛会晤中作出的五点承诺，即：美国不寻求新冷战，不寻求改变中国体制，不寻求通过强化同盟关系反对中国，不支持“台湾独立”，无意同中国发生冲突。美中经济相互依赖，美国乐见中国发展富裕，不寻求打压遏制中国发展，不寻求同中国脱钩。
Repeating President Biden’s promise a year ago in a paragraph is also a reminder to the US that it cannot repeat the same mistakes.
For Sino-US relations, "returning to Bali" and "facing San Francisco" are just the beginning. The most crucial thing is to "surpass San Francisco".
It is worth noting that a new expression emerged in this meeting, and China and the United States should have a new vision.
To this end, China and the United States should work together to pour the five pillars of Sino-US relations.
For the five pillars, Gao Fei, vice president of Foreign Affairs College, analyzed:
The first cognition involves the directionality of Sino-US relations, which China has always emphasized. The United States has always lacked correct judgment on this issue, which is also the main reason why Sino-US relations have encountered difficulties in recent years. The second is to control differences, which is an area that the United States has always emphasized but has not found a way. The third item emphasizes that the two sides should strengthen cooperation in common interests, which reflects China’s consistent position and conforms to the common ideas of both sides. The fourth aspect emphasizes the responsibility of a big country, which is relatively new, and it also emphasizes the responsibility of a big country shouldered by China and the United States. We should strengthen coordination in macro policies and safeguard world peace and stability. The last point further shows that the non-governmental foundation of the relationship between the two countries is consolidated.
In the face of great changes in the world, the United States should adopt a rational attitude and establish a common vision with China, which is in line with the interests of China and the United States and the expectations of the world.
As the Chinese side said, establishing a correct understanding is the primary pillar of the new vision of China and the United States. Whether the United States is more clearly understanding China’s strategic intentions, one starting point is the change of participants.
In this meeting, besides the President of the United States, the American personnel also included Blinken, Yellen, Raimondeau, Sullivan, brainerd, Kerry, Burns, Campbell, Kangda and Bertrand.
Among them, Blinken, Yellen, Raimondeau and Kerry all visited China this year, and Sullivan also held a strategic dialogue with China.
Compared with last year’s Bali meeting, one of the most remarkable changes is brainerd, director of the White House National Economic Council. Brainerd once participated in matters related to China’s accession to the WTO. Brainerd is well aware of the necessity of Sino-US cooperation.
In addition, another remarkable change is that this year, Bertrand succeeded Rosenberg as the new senior director of China affairs of the White House National Security Council. Bessalan served as the Deputy Economic Counselor in the US Embassy in China, and visited China for many times on the rural collective property rights system.
｜｜Bessalan (second from right) attended the meeting between Chinese and American diplomats held in Beijing in June this year.
Obviously, there are more and more people who know about China in the US government’s team responsible for China affairs. But in fact, there is a difference between "understanding" and "understanding". Since Biden’s administration took office, it has been widely criticized for this problem. The crux lies in that Biden’s "China hands" are a group of false "China hands", who may know China but don’t understand China.
Xie Hui, an American expert who has been in the United States for a long time, told Tan Zhu:
What is the connotation of "understanding"? That is, they can’t take a cursory look at China, but they should really sink down, bend down, study in the crowd, learn in life, and understand the real life scene. Understand the real joys and sorrows of Chinese, the fate changes of the real people in China, and record, digest and empathize with the trajectory of China striding forward in this era.
The older generation of "China hands", such as Fu Gaoyi, are not confined to specific majors or fields. They tend to obtain research data through field surveys and verify and improve their academic achievements with major historical events in the development of Sino-US relations. They attach importance to theory, but more importance to practice. They know China now, as well as China in the past and developing China.
｜｜Fu Gaoyi has a good knowledge of modern politics and society in China.
They are also more willing and motivated to promote the constructive development of Sino-US relations. This is exactly what the US government lacks at the moment.
Only by understanding China can we transcend the divided domestic politics of the United States, truly put down our posture, change our misconceptions about China and take real actions.
The Taiwan Province issue has always been the core concern of China, and this time is no exception. Chairman of the Supreme Leader explicitly mentioned the Taiwan Province issue:
The Taiwan Province issue has always been the most important and sensitive issue in Sino-US relations. China attaches importance to the positive statements made by the US during the Bali meeting. The United States should show its disapproval of "Taiwan independence" in concrete actions, stop arming Taiwan Province and support the peaceful reunification of China. China will eventually be unified, and so will it.
Among them, China clearly raised the question of what the United States should do next. Compared with the Bali meeting, there is another outstanding feature of China’s talk about Taiwan Province this time:
Many times mentioned unification.
Wu Xinbo, director of the American Studies Center of Fudan University, told Tan Zhu,The proposal for peaceful reunification of the United States has made China’s demands on the Taiwan Province issue clearer to the United States.
As China’s demands become clearer, the space for the US to play the "Taiwan Province card" is getting smaller and smaller. This trend can also be seen from the expectations of the US side for this meeting before the meeting.
Regarding the discussion in Taiwan Province, a few days before the meeting, the US began to release news through foreign media.
This time, the United States chose Dimi, a correspondent of the Financial Times in China. Dimi is a senior reporter of the Financial Times in China. For the important Sino-US agenda, the US government often chooses to feed the third party, that is, the non-American media.
Specifically, the news released by the US side discussed whether to change from "no support" to "clear opposition to Taiwan independence".
This sign is consistent with the trend that the space for the US to play the "Taiwan Province card" is getting smaller and smaller.
In October this year, the chairman of the so-called "American Association in Taiwan" fled to Taiwan after taking up his new post, and directly told the Taiwan Province authorities that the Biden administration did not support the "Taiwan independence".
Gao Fei pointed out that,In the past five years, China and the United States have tried to test each other’s bottom line through constant fierce confrontation, while China has insisted on a clear attitude. The Taiwan Province issue is the core of China’s core interests and there is no choice. Today, this clear bottom line approach has produced certain results.
With the upcoming election of leaders in Taiwan Province, some forces in the United States are still speculating on the Taiwan Province issue. This requires the U.S. government to continue to show the courage to implement its commitments.
As an internal affair of China, the question of Taiwan Province should not be interfered in.
To some extent, this also reflects the principle of international law in the Charter of the United Nations, that is, the international community should respect the territorial integrity of member States. The Charter of the United Nations was signed in San Francisco, and the United States should understand and adhere to its principles.
During the meeting, the two heads of state agreed to promote and strengthen dialogue and cooperation between China and the United States in various fields, including:
Establish an intergovernmental dialogue on artificial intelligence; Establish a working group on drug control cooperation between China and the United States to carry out drug control cooperation; On the basis of equality and respect, resume high-level communication between the two armies, the working meeting between the Chinese and American defense departments, and the meeting of the Sino-American maritime military security consultation mechanism, and carry out telephone calls between the leaders of the Chinese and American military theaters; Agree to further significantly increase flights early next year; Expand education, international students, youth, culture, sports and business exchanges, and so on.
｜｜Recently, China and the United States have increased more direct flights.
Tan Zhu also noticed that just a dozen hours before the meeting between the two heads of state, China and the United States issued a statement on strengthening cooperation to deal with the climate crisis, which mentioned that China and the United States decided to launch the "Working Group on Strengthening Climate Action in the 21 ST Century".
Consultation mechanism and working group are the high-frequency words of this first meeting between China and the United States.
Gao Fei said,In the past few years, there have been so many problems in Sino-US relations, one of the most important reasons is the interruption of the communication mechanism. Without the communication mechanism, problems may arise where there were no problems, which also caused the spiral decline of Sino-US relations. Now, the United States also understands that the establishment of communication channels and communication mechanisms is of great significance to Sino-US relations.
When meeting in Bali, the two countries first reached a consensus, and then the follow-up work level was docked. Take the finance team as an example. At that time, the two heads of state agreed that the finance teams of the two countries should conduct dialogue and coordination on macroeconomic policies, economy and trade.
This has led to a series of subsequent interactions between the Chinese and American financial teams, including the establishment of the "Economic Working Group" and the "Financial Working Group".
This time, it is obvious that the "big wheel" of the heads of state meeting drives the "small wheel" at the executive level, and the two wheels are driven synchronously. Behind this, it is also the US re-understanding of the communication mechanism.
At the beginning of Biden’s administration, it fantasized about dealing with China from the position of strength. At that time, all communication mechanisms between China and the United States had been interrupted, and the United States did not mention mechanisms, but only talked about contacts.
Under such circumstances, China has maintained its strategic strength, put forward a series of clear requirements for the United States, and told the United States what it should and should not do. At the same time, in the face of American containment, suppression and provocation, China is resolutely fighting.
Over the past few years, the United States has realized that when dealing with China, it is still necessary to return to the right track of communication.
Take the intergovernmental dialogue on artificial intelligence first mentioned this time. Before the meeting, the United States raised expectations and hoped to establish a mechanism similar to the newly established Sino-US economic and financial working groups in the field of artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence itself is also a revelation, guiding how China and the United States should get along in the field of science and technology.
The technological change in today’s world does not result in the struggle for comparative advantages among countries, but more brings about common problems of all mankind, such as global governance, management and ethics, and is confined to competitive thinking, which not only blocks but also eats back the development and progress of mankind itself.
Gao Fei said,China and the United States have been doing one thing for so many years, that is, looking for the basis for cooperation between the two sides. It is of great significance for China and the United States to find a way to get along with each other by exploring cooperation mechanisms from emerging fields.
After the summit meeting, the Chairman of the Supreme Leader met with an old American friend again.
Thirty-eight years ago, the supreme leader, then secretary of Zhengding County Committee of Hebei Province, visited the United States for the first time and visited San Francisco. At that time, the first stop to contact the United States was Iowa. Later, he said this to his old friends in Iowa.To me, you are America.
What is America? Who can represent America? Only in this field where the supreme leader meets his old friends can we see it more clearly.
The Supreme Leader attended a welcome dinner with old friends, which was jointly organized by five organizations:
national committee on u.s.-china relations
u.s. china business council
Asia society
American Council on Foreign Relations
CCUS
In fact, the American people’s welcome to the Chairman of the Supreme Leader can be seen through one detail:
A group of American business executives lined up in the hope of meeting the chairman of the supreme leader.
On the meeting list, there are Fraser, head of Citigroup, Woods, chairman of ExxonMobil, Nadella, head of Microsoft, Musk, head of Tesla and so on. These people are representative forces in the fields of finance, energy and science and technology in the United States.
For some time, the United States imposed tariffs on China and other measures continued to harm the interests of American enterprises.
U.s.-china business council, the American Chamber of Commerce, the American Automobile Manufacturers Association and the International Semiconductor Industry Association have all come forward to express their opinions on policies such as the US government’s restrictions on investment in China.
This concern is also reflected in the actual actions of American companies. As early as November 16th, American chip giant NVIDIA will release three artificial intelligence chips specially for China market.
This has been the past year, and NVIDIA once again launched a customized version of the chip for China, in order to circumvent the US chip export control to China.
At the end of this month, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade will hold a chain fair, which is the first national exhibition with the theme of supply chain in the world. Among the foreign-funded enterprises participating in the exhibition, American enterprises are the most.
The voices calling for cooperation are increasing. Sino-US cooperation is in the common interest of the two peoples.
San Francisco is the place where Chinese first arrived in the United States, where the United States and China jointly signed the Charter of the United Nations, and where the United States and China first established sister cities.
This time, the informal meeting of leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) was held, which was also the largest international meeting held in San Francisco after the signing of the Charter of the United Nations in 1945.
These days, San Francisco has done a lot of work to host this summit, which is also regarded as the hope of the United States to better show its image as a leader in regional economy and world order in order to gain the support of other countries.
How to truly become a respected big country depends on whether you can set an example in the cooperation between big countries, whether you can set an example in the coordination and cooperation of international and regional issues, and whether you can set an example in providing more public goods to the world.
And these examples must start with words and promises.
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