The ongoing visit to China of Susan Elliott, president and CEO of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, and her delegation, has provided a good opportunity for Beijing to brief Washington about its stance on and hopes for US relations ahead of the next US administration taking office.
Beijing values the committee's role as a nonpartisan policy organization dedicated to advancing American foreign policy interests through "dialogue and engagement". In his meeting with Elliott in the Chinese capital on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expounded on the necessity of steadying Sino-US relations during the power transition in the United States.
Pointing to the immediate causes of the serious damage done to China relations, Wang stressed China's strong opposition to the US' repeated arms sales to Taiwan and that the Taiwan question is a red line that no country can cross. He also singled out the US' continuous expansion of the list of Chinese entities subject to unilateral sanctions.
His reiteration of the necessity for the US side to develop a correct strategic perception of China's development, a call Beijing has made on a number of occasions, indicates how the otherwise win-win bilateral relationship has paid a toll for the outgoing US administration's failure to do so.
If the next US administration can appreciate that China's development and revitalization have a clear historical logic and strong endogenous driving force, and its rejuvenation is an inevitable trend that cannot be stopped, and that China has no intention of challenging or replacing the US, there is no need for it to continue the Joe Biden administration's strategic misjudgment that bilateral relations are a zero-sum game.
There are multiple functional channels for communication and dialogue that provide the means for the next US administration to engage meaningfully with the Chinese side to enhance understanding, avoid misjudgment, and promote cooperation. The US will have nothing to lose from continuing the exchanges, but much to gain.
The commitment of China to continuing to provide support and convenience for personnel exchanges between the two countries that Wang has reiterated in his meeting with Elliott should prompt the US side to act reciprocally.
The development of the China-US relationship is at a crossroads, and its future depends on the choice the US side makes and the willingness and efforts of both countries to make it work.
