US-China Summit: Avoiding Conflict Requires Restraint in Using Threats

Published in Yomiuri Shimbun
(Japan) on 17 November 2021
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Owen Hester. Edited by Elizabeth Cosgriff.
For the time being, China is unlikely to change its stance against the U.S.-led international order, and will continue its aggressive maritime expansion and corresponding threats against Taiwan. At the very least, concrete measures should be taken to prevent the confrontation between the U.S. and China from leading to an unforeseen conflict.

President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping recently held an online meeting. Biden stressed that the leaders of the U.S. and China have a responsibility to prevent their competition from turning into a conflict. Xi also pointed out the importance of the U.S. and China working together to build a stable relationship.

Their remarks can be seen as a reflection of the fact that the struggle for supremacy between the U.S. and China is fierce and tensions are rising.

The talks did not bridge the gap over the situation in Taiwan, China's human rights abuses and unfair trade practices.

Biden, mindful of China's increasing military provocations around the Taiwan Strait, made it clear that the U.S. strongly opposes unilateral attempts to change the status quo.

In response, Xi claimed that the cause of the tension was "Taiwan's dependence on the United States for its independence.” He also referred to "decisive measures" if a line was crossed, and reportedly suggested that China might use force to reunify Taiwan.

This hardly suggests that China is serious about improving relations with the United States. If China does not exercise restraint in its unilateral efforts to change the status quo, including in the East and South China Seas, it will not be able to dispel the distrust of other countries.

The U.S. is showing wisdom in trying to maintain the international order by strengthening relations with Japan, Europe, India, Australia and other countries. Cooperation with China is necessary to combat climate change and infectious diseases, but compromises that undermine the rules-based international system and universal values such as human rights are not acceptable.

While avoiding a decisive confrontation with the U.S., Xi has maintained his course of pushing China to become a military, economic and technological power on par with the United States. Even though he advocates cooperation with the U.S., his true intention may be to demonstrate to his own people that he is in control of the relationship with the U.S., and to buy time for China to grow stronger.

In the run-up to next fall's National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, which will solidify Xi's long-term regime, China is taking a more inward-looking stance, and Xi has not traveled abroad for nearly two years. If the leaders of other countries have few opportunities to communicate directly with Xi, the entire world situation may become unstable. Xi should resume his diplomacy in earnest and fulfill his responsibilities as the leader of a major power.

Assuming that tensions between the U.S. and China will continue, Japan must do its part to maintain peace in the region.


中国が強引な海洋進出や台湾への威嚇を続け、米国主導の国際秩序に挑む構図は当面変わりそうにない。最低限、米中の対立を不測の衝突につなげない具体策が必要だ。
米国のバイデン大統領と中国の習近平国家主席がオンライン形式で会談した。
バイデン氏は、米中の首脳には競争が衝突に発展する事態を防ぐ責任があると強調した。習氏も、米中が協力し、安定した関係を築く重要性を指摘した。
両氏の発言は、米中の覇権争いがそれほど激しく、緊張が高まっていることの裏返しと言える。
今回の会談でも、台湾情勢や中国の人権侵害、不公正な貿易慣行を巡る溝は埋まらなかった。
バイデン氏は、台湾海峡周辺で中国の軍事挑発が増加していることを念頭に、「米国は現状を変更しようとする一方的な試みに強く反対する」と明言した。
これに対し、習氏は、「台湾が米国に依存して独立を図ろうとしている」ことが緊張の原因だと主張した。事態が一線を越えた場合の「断固たる措置」にも言及し、中国が台湾統一へ武力行使する可能性を示唆したという。
これでは、中国が本気で対米関係の改善を目指しているとは到底言えない。東シナ海や南シナ海も含め、一方的な現状変更を図る動きを自制しなければ、各国の不信は 払拭(ふっしょく) できないだろう。
米国が日欧、インド、豪州などとの関係強化を通じて国際秩序の維持を図っているのは賢明だ。気候変動や感染症対策で中国との協力は必要だが、ルールに基づく国際システムや人権など普遍的価値観を損なう妥協は許されない。
習氏は、米国との決定的対立を避けながら、中国を米国に匹敵する軍事、経済、技術大国に押し上げる路線を堅持している。
米国との協調を唱えても、その真意は、国内に向けて対米関係をコントロールしていることをアピールし、国力向上までの時間を稼ぐことにあるのではないか。
習氏の長期体制を固める来秋の共産党大会に向けて、中国は内向きの姿勢を強めており、習氏の外遊は2年近く途絶えている。
諸外国の首脳が習氏と直接意思疎通する機会がほとんどないのでは、世界情勢全体が不安定になりかねない。習氏は外交を本格的に再開し、大国の指導者としての責任を果たすべきだ。
日本は米中の緊張関係が続くと想定し、地域の平和維持への努力を強めねばならない。
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