Continued Tension in Defining the US-China Relationship

“I cannot allow this to be leaked here. It is a surprise. But it will take place at a location that reflects China’s character.”

Nov. 4, Washington. These are the words of Cui Tiankai, the Chinese Ambassador to the United States. He was responding to a reporter from one of China’s two major news agencies just before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit who asked where the conference between Obama and Xi Jingping would held.

This U.S.-China summit meeting has been seen as a ‘return favor’ for the 8-hour long informal conversation held at the Sunnylands estate in California in June 2013. It is for this reason that the Chinese media have been focusing on this meeting as the “Sunnylands Talks: Beijing Edition. ” As Obama’s trip to China is a formal visit, strictly speaking the talks can’t be compared directly with the informal Sunnylands encounter.

"What Does Obama Think of the ‘New Model of Major-Country Relations’?”

Nov. 11, 6:30 p.m. After the conclusion of the APEC summit meeting, President Xi greeted President Obama at none other than his own place of work, the Zhongnanhai. Just as Ambassador Cui had suggested, it is a place brimming with Chinese character and symbolizes the power of the Chinese Communist Party.

Donning long black coats, Xi and Obama started walking along the Eidai in the Zhongnanhai, accompanied by no one except their respective interpreters. It was already completely dark outside. Taking a page from Sunnylands, this was also an informal, no-necktie encounter.

President Xi broke the ice with Obama in the following way: “Last year, we spoke together in Sunnylands, and now we are talking by moonlight on the Eidai. We have come to agree on more than we did at that time. But on the other hand, we still have our disputes. Through discussion, we should come to accept our mutual disagreements. It is that which best embodies a new model of major-country relations. Mutual respect and understanding, managing friction, avoiding conflict, avoiding antagonism, realizing a relationship in which we can cooperate: it is my hope that in the days to come, we can facilitate the creation of such an environment, and hold many more talks like this one.”

A source from the Communist Party involved in the Zhongnanhai meeting between Obama and Xi said the following. “It’s been about a year and a half since we first began talking about a ‘new model of major-power relations’ in Sunnylands. One of President Xi’s goals in this meeting was to ascertain President Obama’s stance on the matter at this point in time.”

Both heads of state exchanged opinions on a wide range of topics, including history, economics, human rights, sovereignty and unity. The talk was originally meant to conclude by 9:30 p.m. but the two did not finally finish talking until it was past 11 p.m.

President Obama commented to President Xi before the two parted ways that their evening together had provided him with “the most comprehensive, in-depth understanding of the history of the Chinese Communist Party and its idea of rule and Xi's thinking.”

Practically Unprecedented Hospitality toward Obama

The next morning, President Xi and President Obama changed venues to a public convention center for a formal leadership conference. According to Foreign Minister Wang Yi, “Concurrent with the time of President Obama’s official visit, the Chinese and American governments have released 27 agreements.” Among those, one was a statement on curbing greenhouse gas emissions that outlines a concrete road map for both countries. There were also statements on the Information Technology Act (ITA), which annulled tariffs on over 200 items, confidence-building measures between the U.S. and Chinese armies, and relaxing of conditions for visas.

During the period of the official visit from Nov. 11 to Nov. 12, the fact that all seven executive members of the Central Standing Committee spoke with Obama came as a surprise, to myself included. Of the time spent with all these chief officers, a total of about 10 hours was spent with Obama. “This practically unprecedented level of hospitality towards Obama is an indication of how seriously this country, this party, takes its relationship with the U.S.”

The Gap in the “New Model of Major-Country Relations” Hasn’t Been Bridged

After the leadership conference, both U.S. and Chinese heads of state held a joint press conference. The presidents first gave their respective briefings, and then fielded questions from American and Chinese reporters with the New York Times and China Daily. What really left an impression on me was the fact that President Obama didn’t show any reaction to President Xi’s mention of a “new model of major-country relations.”

After the joint press conference, according to a Chinese article published by the government-run Xinhua News Agency, the U.S. expressed the desire to construct a new U.S.-China model of major-country relations. However, looking at the U.S. press release from the same day, President Obama doesn’t use the term “new model of major-country relations” even once.

It’s been a common theme in past editorials on this subject that there has been a gap between the U.S. and Chinese governments regarding this “new model.” It would appear that this gap has yet to be bridged.

CCTV Special Report on U.S.-China Relations

On Nov. 14, two days after President Obama left Beijing, the government-run Chinese Central Television Station (CCTV) produced an episode on the Channel 4 IR show “Foreign Affairs In-Depth” called “The U.S. and China Define a New Model of Major-Country Relations.” While it was a Chinese-language TV show, it had been given English subtitles. The 45-minute long program offered a retrospective of U.S.-China relations from Sunnylands up until the most recent meetings, where it became clear that the idea of this “new model” was already coming into focus. In addition to three experts on U.S.-China relations representing China, footage of Foreign Minister Wang Yi and former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger were included as well.

I assumed the program would claim that the U.S. and China have been able to reach a conclusion on the definition of this “new model” via this recent meeting between Obama and Xi, but upon a closer look, the information was surprisingly different. Instead, a considerable gap in understanding between the two countries with regard to the definition of a “new model” was thrown into sharp relief.

The program explained China’s understanding that at this stage, China has neither the ability nor the intention to accept a “G2,” and its desire for a cooperative relationship and structure based on a “C2”—where ‘C’ stands for Community, Cooperation and Coordination and ‘2’ stands for the U.S. and China. The logic, according to the program, was that the “new model” is a natural evolution from the “C2” concept.

From there, the U.S.-China “new model” was arranged into three characteristics: (1) no conflict, no antagonism; (2) mutual respect; and (3) mutually beneficial cooperation.

These three points coincide with the principles President Xi stated to President Obama at Zhongnanhai. Rather than claiming that the U.S. and China are in agreement with these principles, the program actually focused on highlighting inconsistencies on the part of the United States.

Regarding the first characteristic, the U.S. has already expressed agreement via diplomatic channels. The U.S. believes that current superpowers and rising superpowers ought to avoid conflict. However, while U.S. crisis management leaders wish to directly implement the principle of ‘no conflict, no antagonism,’ the Chinese side wants to ferret out the causes that give rise to conflict and contradiction.

Regarding the second characteristic, the U.S. is in complete disagreement. China wishes to press the U.S. to acknowledge China’s core interests.

And regarding the third characteristic, there is a gap in methodology between how the U.S. and China wish to pursue implementation.

Basically, there is a gap in interpretation and position between the U.S. and China on all three of the points that constitute the axis of President Xi’s “new model.”

”The U.S. Is Hegemonic”

Associate Dean of Renmin University’s School of International Studies, Dr. Jin Canrong, was among those U.S.-China experts to make an appearance on the program. He described the American understanding of these three principles as follows:

“’No conflict, no antagonism’ is something the U.S. is also on board with. The U.S. understands that a war between major powers like the U.S. and China would carry a catastrophic cost in human life. The U.S. does not exhibit interest in ‘mutual respect.' They think that China is always trying to expand the range of what it calls its core interests. Further, at heart, the U.S. does not really see China as an equal partner. It has no intention of sharing its status as a superpower equally with China.

“Regarding ‘mutually beneficial cooperation,’ in a word, it’s like a number of stocks being divided evenly, but the U.S. takes 80 percent of the profit, handing only 20 percent over to China. The U.S. is hegemonic. The way I see it, the U.S. has never before faced a country with so much national power and so many new ideas as China. The U.S. is concerned about how to deal with that. While worrisome, China has proposed this ‘new model.’ While the U.S. hasn’t rejected it, it hasn’t fully accepted it either.”

The program also stated that despite Xi and Obama’s conversation resulting in an agreement to strengthen cooperation, there remains a mountain of inconsistency. The program concluded as follows: “The U.S. requests China’s assistance regarding problems in Syria and Crimea, but China does not indulge these requests. China requests the U.S.’s assistance in the problems in the East and South China Sea, but the U.S. does not indulge China. The U.S. has been unable to determine if China represents an ‘expansionist hegemony’ or is following a ‘defensive, peaceful rise.’ China has been unable to determine if the U.S. is pursuing an ‘aggressive strategy to surround’ it, or a ‘defensive strategy to contain’ it. Because neither side can entirely trust the other, for the time being there is no option but to pursue a course of cooperation.”

The Continuing Discord Over the “New Model”

In June 2013, President Obama began discussing the new model concept with Xi at Sunnylands based on the following three questions: what kind of U.S.-China relationship do we need; how can the U.S. and China cooperate in a way that is mutually beneficial; and what form of cooperation between the U.S. and China will promote peace and development throughout the world.

A year and a half later, Xi must be thinking, “We’re still only halfway.” As mentioned earlier concerning Obama’s non-reaction at the joint press conference, according to a source in the administration, President Obama’s stance is “to not play along with this ‘new model’ narrative China is promoting.”

Secretary of State John Kerry showed support for this stance at a lecture on U.S.-China relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies on Nov. 5, immediately before the APEC summit meeting. Despite stating that “the U.S.-China relationship is the most consequential in the world today,” Secretary Kerry went on to say that “when we talk about managing our differences, that is not code for agreeing to disagree. For example, we do not simply agree to disagree when it comes to maritime security, especially in the South and East China Seas.” Kerry made the same comments about cybersecurity and human rights later on. From beginning to end, Kerry never once used the words “new model.”

On Nov. 16, 2009, during Obama’s first presidential visit to China, then Vice Chairman Xi was waiting at the airport to welcome the new U.S. president. Five years later on Nov. 11, 2014, as their 5-hour long conversation at Zhongnanhai drew to a close, Obama said solemnly, “I only have two years left as president.”

After a brief pause, Xi responded, “Two years is not short. In this period of time, it is still possible for you to achieve great new things. In these two years, it is my hope that you will strengthen and further develop a new model of major-power relations with China.”