OPINION:
The Biden-Xi summit earlier this month was a step in the right direction. But it was only a step. Restoring military-to-military communication and China’s commitment to stem the export of precursor chemicals related to the production of the opioid fentanyl were major — and expected — deliverables from the summit. But the trust deficit in bilateral relations looms large.
In 1978, when Deng Xiaoping took over as China’s supreme leader, he inherited a poor and struggling country, ravaged by the disastrous Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution. Deng’s initial and primary focus was economic reform, establishing a market economy that focused on technology, innovation and meritocracy, and a system that sought foreign direct investment — and interaction primarily with U.S. companies and universities.
And the U.S. was there for China, with U.S. companies investing heavily in China and tens of thousands of Chinese students enrolling in U.S. colleges and universities.
Fast-forward to September 2000 when the U.S. Senate voted in favor of permanent most favored nation status for China, which paved the way for China’s accession to the World Trade Organization in December 2001.
From a poor and struggling China to a China with the world’s second-largest gross domestic product of over $17.7 trillion, total U.S. goods and services trade with China in 2022 was estimated at $758.4 billion, an increase from 2021.
Indeed, the U.S. was there and continues to be there for China when it comes to trade and economic relations, in addition to unfettered access to U.S. universities and colleges. But the issue of intellectual property theft by China continues to be an issue, as do certain sectors of China’s economy that remain closed to foreign investment. So, regardless of some of these market access and intellectual property theft issues, our economies are interdependent — a strong argument against economic decoupling.
A trust deficit must be addressed regarding China’s attempted intimidation of Taiwan with naval and air incursions into Taiwan’s protected air and sea defense zones, as well as the 1997 reversion of Hong Kong to China from the United Kingdom and the enactment of the Basic Law that promulgated “one country, two systems” status for Hong Kong until 2047.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s enactment of the Hong Kong national security law in 2020 basically nullified the Basic Law commitments and the one country, two systems policy. In addition, the human rights situation in Tibet and Xinjiang and the treatment of the Uyghurs remains troubling.
These volatile issues require immediate attention, and a dialogue is needed on our respective nuclear programs and China’s alignment with a revanchist Russia and Iran, a state sponsor of terrorism, while making clear that U.S. policy is not to contain, encircle or suppress China.
Not addressing issues in the South and East China seas and the need to keep the Indo-Pacific region free and open to international trade and passage could result in accidental conflict and war.
We saw some of this in 2001, when a Chinese fighter jet collided with a U.S. EP-3 reconnaissance airplane in international airspace, with an emergency landing of the airplane on China’s Hainan Island and the crew being held for 10 days. The Chinese pilot was missing and presumed dead.
Initially, President George W. Bush was unable to reach his counterpart in China, President Jiang Zemin, who wasn’t answering the phone, to defuse this incident in a timely manner.
A similar incident occurred on May 7, 1999, when the U.S. accidentally bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, with three Chinese officials killed. President Bill Clinton was unable to reach Jiang — who was refusing to take his call — until May 14, when Mr. Clinton finally spoke with Jiang and apologized for the bombing. A similar lack of timely communication by our leaders could prove catastrophic today, given the lack of trust between our countries.
It should be obvious why timely leader-to-leader and military-to-military communication is so important — to prevent or mitigate an accident or misunderstanding from escalating into conflict. This is important not only in the South and East China seas but also in the Taiwan Strait, with China’s aggressive naval and air incursions into Taiwan’s air and sea defense zones.
And with Taiwan’s presidential election coming in January, it’s important that the U.S. continue to make clear, as President Biden did in his discussions with Mr. Xi, that China should not interfere in the upcoming presidential election in Taiwan.
Hopefully, given the Biden-Xi discussions in November, we will see progress not only in improving leadership communications but also in heightened diplomacy to deal with some of these issues and, most importantly, to build trust between our two countries. Deng Xiaoping correctly looked to the U.S. to help with China’s modernization, and the U.S. was there for China.
It would be tragic if this important legacy were forgotten and we failed to work harder to restore trust between the U.S. and China.
• Joseph R. DeTrani served as special envoy for the Six-Party Talks with North Korea from 2003 to 2006 and as director of the National Counterproliferation Center. The views expressed here are the author’s and not those of any government agency or department.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.