#中美达成五点共识#
On the evening of April 26, 2024, Yang Tao, Director General of the Department of North America and Oceania of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gave a briefing to the media on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to China. Yang Tao said that during the visit, on the basis of a comprehensive exchange of views, the two sides reached a five-point consensus, namely:
First, the two sides agreed to continue to work to stabilize and develop China-US relations in accordance with the guidance of the two heads of state. The two sides affirmed the positive progress made in dialogue and cooperation between China and the United States in various fields since the San Francisco meeting, and agreed to speed up the implementation of the important consensus reached by the two heads of state in San Francisco. (This mainly depends on the implementation capacity of the US side)
Second, the two sides agreed to maintain high-level exchanges and contacts at all levels. We will continue to give full play to the role of the consultation mechanisms that have been restored and newly established in the fields of diplomacy, economy, finance, and commerce. Continue to carry out exchanges between the two militaries. Further promote China-US cooperation in drug control, climate change, and artificial intelligence. (Embodiment of the first point)
Third, the two sides announced that they will hold the first meeting of the China-US Intergovernmental Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence, continue to advance consultations on the guiding principles of China-US relations, hold a new round of China-US consultations on Asia-Pacific affairs and China-US maritime affairs, and continue to carry out China-US consular consultations. The U.S.-China Anti-Narcotics Cooperation Working Group will hold a meeting of senior officials. The United States welcomes the visit of China's Special Envoy for Climate Change Liu Zhenmin. (Embodiment of the second point)
Fourth, the two sides will take steps to expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges, welcome students from each other's countries, and host the 14th China-US High-Level Tourism Dialogue to be held in Xi'an, China, in May. (Embodiment of the second point)
Fifth, the two sides have maintained consultations on international and regional hotspot issues, and the special envoys of the two sides have strengthened communication. (Long-standing policy)
So, if you want to talk about it, in fact, the consensus reached is more specific, such as artificial intelligence control, anti-drug and climate change, these are all the scope of cooperation that has been determined. But there are also no particularly novel changes in scope. It's just that from Blinken's point of view, he did achieve some results, so diplomatically it cannot be said that he has done nothing in his dialogue with China. This may be the biggest takeaway from Blinken's visit to China.
Then, what we can see is that from the briefing by Yang Tao, director of the Department of American and Pacific Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it can be seen that the Chinese side has been emphasizing China's basic demands and views, and these are only partially reflected in the five-point consensus between China and the United States. Therefore, it can be said that the thinking and attitude of the US side do not go hand in hand with China, but there are many fundamental issues on which the US cannot give clear answers.
Therefore, the consensus between China and the United States as a whole is still at the level of superficial and partial cooperation, and it is still far from real stability. It can only be said that at present, it is still in the stage of fighting but not breaking, and cooperation will still be fragile. This is also in line with the current structural characteristics of the U.S.-China relationship, which makes it difficult for cooperation to be widespread as long as one side sees the other as a competitor.
Of course, we don't want to be an enemy of the United States at the moment, but the preparations have been underway all along, and this is a response to the strong realist logic of the United States itself. It is necessary for us to make clear our interests and hopes, on the one hand, to clearly inform the US side, and on the other hand, to reiterate our position and viewpoint to the world, which is necessary, but we also know that the Americans cannot fully agree to it. We have clearly drawn a red line on the Taiwan issue, and we have also made it clear that we will definitely want the right to development, and these are the two parts that China is most concerned about, and they are also the two parts that China will really invest strategic resources to ensure, and no one, including the United States, can change these two points. The United States has confirmed this, at least officially, but of course the actual approach is very different from China's hopes.
The game between China and the United States will be very long, and there will be cooperation in it, but there is still no reversal in the direction of competition and even confrontation on the whole. Seeking cooperation through struggle will be the mainstream at this stage.