Winston Lord: The U.S. initiation of engagement with China is a win-win strategy

2019-10-22 05:23 [Beauty] Winston Lord

As one of the actual players in the U.S. connection with China in the early 1970s, I was working on the U.S. National Security Council as a special assistant to Mr. Kissinger. During Chairman Mao Zedong's meeting with President Nixon in 1972, I was one of three members of the US side (along with Nixon and Kissinger).

The United States wants to get out of the difficult situation

Because I experienced that era firsthand, I think the late sixties and early seventies were a period of successful grand strategy for the United States. When Nixon and Kissinger took office, they faced very difficult situations at home and abroad. Getting rid of these and building a successful foreign policy overseas requires an ambitious strategy. Relations between the United States and the Soviet Union were strained at the time, and there was no diplomatic ties with China. At the same time, we were caught in a very long war in Vietnam.

As anti-war sentiment grew, riots, assassinations, and protests erupted in the United States. To prove that U.S. diplomacy can still exert its influence, Nixon and Kissinger devised a strategy for establishing diplomatic ties with China. In this way, this grand strategy would improve relations with China and the Soviet Union, thereby putting pressure on the Northern Vietnamese regime, which receives aid from those countries, to seriously negotiate a peaceful solution.

This strategy is very effective. We opened a fruitful relationship with China and immediately improved our relations with the Soviet Union. At that time, Sino-US relations were better than Sino-Soviet relations. A few years later, the United States reached a peaceful settlement with the regime in Northern Vietnam. This shows that U.S. diplomacy is not plagued by war and other problems, and that we are still active in the international arena, which has greatly improved the morale of the American people. They saw that despite our controversial withdrawal from a small part of Southeast Asia, we were linked to a huge country.

Before contacting China, I had no bottom in my heart

If the United States had not approached China first, we were not sure at the time whether China would have reached out to the United States to seek reconciliation. After all, China and the United States fought in the Korean War and have not been connected to each other for 22 years. But when we see growing tensions between Moscow and Beijing, especially after the 1969 (Sino-Soviet) border conflict, we think China might be interested in dealing with us to balance the Soviet threat. Judging by the diplomatic environment that China was in at the time, we thought China might be interested in forging ties with the United States, because it could lead to China's membership in the United Nations and, subsequently, the possibility of expanding relations with other countries in Asia and Europe.

So we think China has a willingness to deal with us, but we're not quite sure either, which is why Nixon sent Kissinger and me to China in July 1971 to make sure that both countries have enough common interests to build this new relationship and to make sure that the next year's presidential visit is scheduled.

Opening up relations with China is a classic win-win case. Like the United States, China has achieved its primary goal. China and the United States have achieved a win-win outcome. In 1979, then-US President Jimmy Carter formally established diplomatic relations with China. I think President Carter's move, while not as groundbreaking as President Nixon's visit to China in the early 1970s, still requires considerable leadership and courage to formalize the relationship. Because that meant cutting off diplomatic relations with Taiwan (the United States had been allies with Taiwan for many years) and instead building relations with Beijing. At that time, many people in the United States still opposed this move, and Congress also passed the "Taiwan Relations Act." But overall, the establishment of diplomatic relations with China has been positively welcomed in the United States.

Foreign policy needs to be approached with caution

The entire process of engagement with China back then was done in secret, which is very different from what President Trump does today — he always uses Twitter to discuss foreign policy. There is a particular need for confidentiality in establishing contacts with China so that we can have frank discussions and to ensure that we have reached a certain amount of consensus before we make the agreement public. Nixon's foreign policy was more cautious and strategic than the one we see today. President Trump relies on intuition on Twitter, often making quick decisions without consulting any advisers, and often changing opinions without careful planning or preparation. We need to adhere to a strategy in which we should not change our views based on the president's personal interests, but should look at the interests of the nation.

For any government, a successful foreign policy – not just for Asia, but for the world – has three elements. This is especially true of our foreign policy.

First, the United States needs to be united and able to function efficiently. There can't be endlessly wrangling debates between the left and the right, and we need to invest in the future to be more competitive when competing with other countries. Cooperation is needed in relevant legislation devoted to advanced science and technology, infrastructure, education and other areas. These efforts will make America more competitive and an opportunity to demonstrate our democratic political system.

Second, we must work with our friends and allies. But the current administration has frequently quarreled with our friends and traditional allies, and trade disputes have become commonplace. If President Trump works with our allies, perhaps he will have more influence.

Thirdly, our leadership must be strengthened through international cooperation and multilateral institutions. The United States needs to inspire and form coalitions to solve the problem. The current administration undermines our ability to do multilateral work, and Washington withdraws from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but the agreement is economically good for U.S. business development and trade enhancements, while also sending a message of U.S. leadership in Asia. The White House also withdrew from a deal to limit Iran's nuclear program. Most importantly, Washington withdrew from the Paris Agreement, pushing climate leadership to China and ending U.S.-China cooperation in this critical area.

It must be pointed out that although the relationship between China and the United States has encountered some difficulties, in the United States, Chinese, Chinese culture and Chinese cuisine are still deeply loved by people. (The author is a former U.S. ambassador to China, and the Chinese edition of his new book, Kissinger's Kissinger, will meet readers next year.) This article was compiled by Zhang Juan, executive editor of the Carter Center "Impression of China and the United States")

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