US and China Hold High-Level Diplomatic Talks To Build Dialogue and Ease Tensions

Published in Mainichi Shimbun
(Japan) on 30 July 2021
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Owen Hester. Edited by Elizabeth Cosgriff.
Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, the No. 2 official in the U.S. State Department, visited China and met separately with State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Xie Feng. This is the first visit to China by a senior State Department official since the Biden administration took office.

In March, the top diplomats of the U.S. and China engaged in a heated debate in Alaska, which exposed the seriousness of their differences in values and their mutual distrust. This is the first face-to-face meeting between the two countries since then.

As the confrontation between the U.S. and China intensifies, the two sides may have finally recognized the need to ease tensions.

Their aim is to reestablish regular negotiations and to set the stage for a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The meeting is expected to take place at the summit of the Group of 20 industrial and emerging-market nations, to be held in Rome at the end of October.

The talks lasted a total of six hours. The international community has been watching closely as both countries have emphasized communication.

However, both sides repeated the conventional argument that the other side is responsible for the deterioration of relations, giving the impression of the depth of the rift.

Sherman criticized China's actions "that undermine the international rules-based order." She conveyed her concerns over the human rights situation in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. She also referred to the situation with the South China Sea and Taiwan.

All of these are China's most important "core interests.” Wang strongly opposed the U.S. move, especially on the Taiwan issue, saying, "If you provoke us, we will stop you by any means necessary.” He also pushed for the withdrawal of sanctions against China.

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who led the U.S.-China rapprochement 50 years ago, sounded the alarm in a speech this month, saying, "Conflicts between the U.S. and China will divide the whole world.”

The U.S. and China are vying for influence in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, and the economic divide is spreading from high-tech industries to financial markets. Many countries, including Japan, are wary of a situation wherein they are forced to pick sides between the U.S. and China.

Multilateral diplomacy, such as that of the United Nations, could also become dysfunctional. When the interests of developed and developing countries collide, as in the case of climate change, it becomes even more difficult to reach a consensus. It is the proper role of major powers to emphasize international cooperation rather than putting national interests first.

At a time when tensions and distrust are rising, the U.S. and China must continue their efforts to build dialogue and limit confrontation.


米国務省ナンバー2のシャーマン副長官が訪中し、王毅国務委員兼外相や謝鋒外務次官と個別に会談した。バイデン政権が発足した後、国務省高官の訪中は初めてとなる。

 米中外交トップは3月に米アラスカ州で激論を交わし、価値観の違いと相互不信の深刻さが露呈した。対面での会談はそれ以来だ。

 米中対立が激しさを増す中で、今回は双方が緊張緩和の必要性を認識したのだろう。

 実務者レベルの接触から仕切り直し、バイデン大統領と習近平国家主席による会談への地ならしとする狙いがあるとみられる。10月末にローマで開かれる主要20カ国・地域(G20)首脳会議の場が有力視されている。

 今回の協議は計6時間に及んだ。両国が意思疎通を重視する姿勢を示したことを、国際社会は注視している。

 だが、関係悪化の責任は相手にあるとの従来の主張を双方が繰り返し、溝の深さを印象づけた。

 シャーマン氏は「国際秩序を損なう中国の行動」を批判した。香港や新疆ウイグル自治区の人権状況で懸念を伝え、南シナ海や台湾を巡る情勢に言及した。

 いずれも中国にとって最も重要な「核心的利益」だ。王氏は強く反発し、特に台湾問題に関して「挑発すれば、いかなる手段を講じても阻止する」と米国の動きをけん制した。対中制裁の撤回などの要求も突きつけた。

 50年前の米中接近を主導したキッシンジャー元国務長官は今月の講演で「米中の衝突は世界を分断させる」と警鐘を鳴らした。

 米中は欧州やアジア、中東で影響力を競い合い、経済の分断状況はハイテク産業から金融市場に及ぼうとしている。日本を含む各国が米中間で踏み絵を迫られる事態を警戒している。

 国連などの多国間外交も機能不全に陥りかねない。気候変動対策のように、先進国と発展途上国の利害がぶつかる課題は合意形成が一層難しくなる。国益第一ではなく、国際協調を重視するのが大国のあるべき姿だ。

 緊張と不信が高まっている時だからこそ、米中は対話を積み重ね、対立を制御する努力を続けなければならない。
This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

Hot this week

Germany: Trump’s Words and Putin’s Calculus

India: Trump’s Tariffs Have Hit South Korea and Japan: India Has Been Wise in Charting a Cautious Path

Australia: Donald Trump Is Not the Only Moving Part When It Comes to Global Trade

Nigeria: The Global Fallout of Trump’s Travel Bans

Topics

India: Trump’s Tariffs Have Hit South Korea and Japan: India Has Been Wise in Charting a Cautious Path

Australia: Donald Trump Is Not the Only Moving Part When It Comes to Global Trade

Ireland: As Genocide Proceeds, Netanyahu Is Yet Again Being Feted in Washington

Canada: Canada’s Retaliatory Tariffs Hurt Canadians

Spain: A NATO Tailor-Made for Trump

OPD 26th June 2025, edited by Michelle Bisson Proofer: See...

Germany: Trump’s Words and Putin’s Calculus

Related Articles

India: Trump’s Tariffs Have Hit South Korea and Japan: India Has Been Wise in Charting a Cautious Path

Canada: Can We Still Trust American Intelligence?

Indonesia: US-China: Tariff, Tension, and Truce

Mexico: Traditional Terrorism vs the New Variety

Austria: Trump, the Bulldozer of NATO