On October 6, local time, in accordance with the consensus reached by the leaders of China and the United States in the telephone talks, Chinese representative Yang Jiechi and US representative Sullivan held a meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, which was the third face-to-face meeting between China and the United States after the Alaska Dialogue in March and the Tianjin Talks in July.
According to the WORDS OF US media and officials, this meeting is the most in-depth dialogue held by the top level of China and the United States since Biden took office as US president. According to the report, the representatives of China and the United States held consultations on a number of issues during the six-hour meeting time, and the two sides agreed to strengthen strategic communication, properly manage differences, avoid further escalation and deterioration of tensions, and effectively promote the return of Sino-US relations to a healthy and stable development path.
For this high-level Sino-US meeting, external public opinion first gave a high degree of affirmation, believing that under the background of the continued tension in Sino-US relations, the significance of the Zurich meeting is obvious. For example, Alexei Maslov, acting director of the Far Eastern Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that the meeting created a foundation for High-level Interaction between China and the United States in the future and provided a good opportunity for the relaxation of Sino-US relations.
At the same time, outside public opinion is also cautious about the meeting to completely resolve the contradictions between China and the United States and completely unfreeze the relations between the two countries. Analysts pointed out that with the rapid rise of China, the positioning of the United States as a competitor will not change, which determines that Sino-US relations are competitive even if they are not confrontational, and the US position on China will not return to the past.
Sure enough, as expected, just after the high-level Meeting between China and the United States in Zurich, the United States drew India to challenge China. According to Indian media reports, on October 6, local time, US Deputy Secretary of State Sherman said in a meeting with Indian Foreign Secretary Hash Slingra that the United States is "ready to compete fiercely with China."
Sherman claimed that the U.S.-China relationship is both competitive and cooperative, and that the United States will compete with China in areas where it should compete, while cooperating with China on the premise that it is in the interests of the United States, and that if China undermines the interests of the United States and its allies, the United States will give the necessary response. In addition, when Sherman attended the Indian Thought Summit held by the U.S.-India Business Council, he called normal economic exchanges between China and neighboring countries economic coercion and slandered China for undermining stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.
Sherman said that a stable U.S.-India relationship is indispensable for the Indo-Pacific region and even the world, and the United States and India are the two largest democracies in the world, and the two countries have highly consistent values, which is also the basis for building U.S.-India relations. In addition, the two countries share many common interests in the Indo-Pacific region, such as safeguarding the interests of partners and allies and combating acts that undermine the rules-based international order.
Analysts pointed out that Sherman's visit to India is to further consolidate the important consensus reached with US President Joe Biden during the Indian prime minister's visit to the United States last month. At present, when China and the United States are fiercely competing, the United States in the Indo-Pacific region is inseparable from India, a heavyweight "partner".
Late last month, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the United States and met with Biden, and the two said they would build a solid U.S.-India defense relationship through close contacts in information sharing, logistics sharing and military interaction. In fact, since February 2018, former US President Trump proposed the "Indo-Pacific Strategy", US-India relations have been on the rise, and have now entered a honeymoon period.
In October last year, the United States and India signed the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement on Geospatial Cooperation, which is regarded by the outside world as a milestone in the history of the development of the U.S.-India defense relationship. Under the agreement, Indian troops can use data provided by U.S. satellites, while the two countries will also strengthen cooperation in intelligence acquisition and sharing. After Biden took office, the relationship between the United States and India at the military level was further strengthened, and the White House had previously approved Boeing to sell the latest F-15EX fighter jets to the Indian Air Force.
The rapid heating up of US-India relations can be described as "taking what they need" for both sides. In order to better implement the "Indo-Pacific strategy" and increase its chips against China, the United States needs India's help. In the Indo-Pacific, Japan, America's traditional allies, and Australia, are relatively powerful, but neither has the same potential as India.
As a large country with a population of more than 1 billion, India's potential is considerable, and if India can be developed into a loyal ally of the United States, the anti-China alliance built by the United States in the Indo-Pacific region will be greatly enhanced. As for India, at a time when relations between China and India are fluctuating wildly over border issues, the Modi regime needs to use powerful external allies like the United States to put pressure on China while helping India share the pressure.
The "wishful thinking" of the United States has been played quite well, but just after the Top Level of China and the United States has finished and achieved some positive results, it has once again openly changed its face, instigated Sino-US confrontation, and co-opted India to engage in small groupism, which not only damages the reputation of the United States, but also seriously violates the consensus reached by the representatives of China and the United States and is not conducive to the development of Sino-US relations.
It is worth mentioning that on the second day of the dialogue with Yang Jiechi and promising to abide by the "one-China" policy, Sullivan immediately turned his face and hyped up the Taiwan issue, openly advocating that the United States would "protect Taiwan by force."