Let these rational voices break the "chilling effect" in the United States

Observer on International Issues Zheng Guichu

In the past period, Sino-US relations have fallen into a historic trough. A group of extreme anti-China politicians represented by Rubio, Hawley, Blackburn, and others frequently attack and smear China and provoke and undermine Sino-US friendship. But it is these paranoid, arrogant and manic politicians who have almost hijacked the atmosphere of US China policy, shaped the "political correctness" of being tough on China, and formed a "chilling effect" in which no one dares to speak out for Sino-US relations. Fortunately, justice is in people's hearts, and more and more calm and rational voices are coming from all directions.

"The interests of the United States and China are intertwined, like conjoined babies are inseparable from each other": voices from the American business community.

Recently, Bill Gates, Tesla, Starbucks, JPMorgan Chase and many other US company executives came to China to say "no" to the so-called "decoupling and breaking the chain" of the United States with practical actions.

Bill Gates is the first American friend President Xi Jinping met in Beijing this year. President Xi Jinping clearly pointed out that the foundation of China-US relations lies in the people, and we have always pinned our hopes on the American people and hope that the two peoples will continue to be friendly. Gates said that China's tremendous achievements in poverty reduction and response to the new crown epidemic have attracted worldwide attention, setting a good example for the world. China's accelerated innovation and development is beneficial to China, developing countries and the world.

Along with Gates, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is in high scrutiny. During his recent "whirlwind visit to China", Musk made it clear that Tesla opposes "decoupling and breaking the chain" and that "the interests of the United States and China are blended, just like conjoined babies are inseparable from each other." It is worth mentioning that on the first day of Musk's visit to China, Tesla's market value rose by more than $25 billion (nearly 180 billion yuan) overnight. Following Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory, Tesla's Shanghai Energy Storage Gigafactory will also start construction.

The green "Starbucks Siren" is already well known to the Chinese people. Starbucks Global CEO Nasihan said during his first recent trip to China that China's coffee market has huge room for growth, and mature and segmented Chinese customers lead the global trend. To this end, Starbucks has set a "small goal" of opening 9,000 stores in China by 2025, and China will become Starbucks' largest market in the world.

J.P. Morgan, one of the world's largest financial services institutions, has been operating in China for more than 100 years and has witnessed the historical changes in the U.S.-China relationship. Recently, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said in an interview with Reuters, "If you just sit on the other side of the Pacific and yell at each other, you can't solve the problem." So I hope there will be real engagement between China and the United States. ”

Charlie Munger, a well-known American investor, was much more frank, using the phrase "stupid, stupid, stupid!" "To criticize the words and deeds that promote Sino-US tensions, and bluntly say that the United States should get along well with China."

"The United States does not need to fight a 'cold war' with China": voices from American political circles.

Senator Sanders of Vermont, chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, recently tweeted that the United States does not need to fight a "cold war" with China, let alone increase military spending by tens of billions of dollars.

Former US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Hormats, a witness to the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, recently wrote that both China and the United States will benefit from a series of high-level dialogues in the near future. The United States should not view its relations with China as a zero-sum game, and should not try to challenge other countries' systems and cultures, but should seek to establish a pragmatic and constructive bilateral relationship. Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Summers also stressed in an interview that the United States should focus on building its own economic advantages rather than attacking China. Jerry Brown, former governor of California, said in an exclusive interview with the US "Politician" news network that the United States should not launch a "new cold war" with China, and "decoupling" from China means a real deterioration of the US and world economy.

In contrast, senior officials of the Biden administration are "tough in mouth, but honest in body", and have made contact requests to visit China, and even queued up. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has also embarked on a trip to China on the heels of Secretary Blinken, and she recently made a rare effort to emphasize the need to work with China as much as possible. U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, who is awaiting a visit to China, also said that while tensions remain between China and the United States, the United States must work with China to achieve global climate goals.

"The United States must cooperate with China, otherwise both lose": voices from the American media and academia.

Recently, Washington Post columnist Max Bout wrote an article "Washington has sanctioned more than 12,000 entities but backfired", believing that the US sanctions policy is against US economic interests, and calling on the Biden administration to be more cautious and strategic in implementing sanctions.

Farmeri Zakaria, a well-known CNN host and Washington Post columnist, wrote in the article "The Way the World Treats China Different from Us" that the China policies of US allies and partners are different from those of the United States, and US strategic elites need to realize that adhering to the commitment to an open, free and fair global economic system is in the interests of both the United States itself and the interests of all countries in the world.

The well-known American linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky said in an interview, "The United States openly claims to stop China's economic development, but if we want to survive, we must do the opposite of what we are now - the United States must cooperate with China, otherwise both will lose." ”

Stephen Roach, a senior researcher at Yale University, published a signed article "The Sino-US Science and Technology Trap" emphasizing that suppressing opponents cannot make up for the accumulation of domestic problems in the United States, and that the United States likes to blame China for its problems, which is just an excuse.

Melvin Goodman, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy Studies, said in his article "China's Foreign Policy: Lessons for the United States" that Biden must admit that the policy we have pursued to contain China over the past decade is a major failure, China's economic policy does not pose a threat to the United States, and we cannot contain China in any way.

Christopher Chivis, director of the American Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, wrote that a repeat of the "Cold War" in the 21st century would not benefit anyone, especially for the United States.

"Forget about decoupling from China, no one is advocating decoupling anymore, including the United States": voices from the international community.

During his recent visit to China, French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe must resist the idea of reducing trade and diplomatic relations with China, and France would actively work to continue commercial ties with China. Europe cannot become a vassal of the United States.

Timorese President Horta recently delivered a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, saying that as a world power, China's influence spans the globe, and its interests, wealth, people's well-being and security are intertwined with other countries. Viewing China's rise as a regional and global threat is a "well frog view", and China will not kill chickens and eggs, and will not do anything harmful to others and to the detriment of itself. As China became a "true great power," many countries found new ones to rely on after their hopes of the West were dashed.

Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong has made it clear that ASEAN members do not want to see a "new Cold War", do not want to be forced to choose sides between China and the United States, and that containing China's rise or limiting the presence of the United States are not popular in the region.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Borrell said at a high-level policy dialogue at the European Policy Center that "decoupling from China would be a disaster for the world economy." He bluntly said, "Forget about decoupling from China, no one is advocating decoupling anymore, including the United States." ”

At this point, we can't help but ask: Have the anti-China politicians in the United States heard so many voices? When you indiscriminately accuse China of violating the so-called "rules-based international order," when you frequently wield the stick of sanctions and put more than 1,000 Chinese companies on a "blacklist," when you wantonly spread China's military security threats and repeatedly sent military aircraft and warships to China's gates thousands of miles away to flaunt their might, many calm and rational voices are shouting at you and urging you to "restrain from the precipice."

Recently, centenarian Dr. Kissinger repeatedly stressed that "Sino-US relations are on a 'cliff'" and that "the only way to prevent a devastating conflict between the United States and China is calm diplomacy." If anti-China politicians in the United States really serve the good of the United States, Sino-US relations, and the world, they should wake up and quickly return to the broad road of stabilizing and improving Sino-US relations. If they insist on "pretending to sleep", then what awaits them will be self-fulfilling prophecies.

We believe that dawn will dispel darkness and that sunrise will always bring light. The vast Pacific Ocean and even the vast earth fully allow China and the United States to develop and prosper together. Just as the specter of "McCarthyism" that shrouded the United States will eventually disperse, as more and more people with lofty ideals come forward to actively speak out, this wave of "chilling effect" created by anti-China politicians in the United States will also be thrown into the garbage heap of history.