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US-China relations
Opinion
Chen Gong
Opinion
Chen Gong

With Biden looking to improve US-China relations, Beijing can ensure meetings are more than a masquerade

  • Biden seems keen to show he wants warmer US-China ties, without actually holding out much hope for it. For Beijing, this is a chance to foster meaningful connections

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Chen Gong
Chen Gong, founder of the Anbound think tank, is a scholar and author, well known for his achievements in the field of information analysis in public policy.
There is no simple, direct answer to the current state of US-China relations, which are determined by a complexity of circumstances and conflicting realities. Earlier this month, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met China’s top diplomat Wang Yi in Vienna, Austria, for two days of talks, and both sides released statements that carried intriguing subtleties.
The White House referred to “candid, substantive and constructive discussions” on bilateral, global and regional security issues, the Ukraine war and Taiwan, emphasising that the meeting was part of “efforts to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage competition”.
It talked about maintaining “this important strategic channel of communication” and “building on the engagement between President [Joe] Biden and President Xi [Jinping] in Bali” last November, giving the impression that Biden’s China policy was proceeding smoothly.

But things appear to be quite different on the Chinese side. The official Xinhua news agency and much of the obviously officially approved social media have published numerous, even repetitive, comments that sound more like declarations of victory.

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