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China-US relations: Beijing warned ties will worsen further unless it shifts stance on Ukraine
- The ongoing Russian invasion cast a shadow over Beijing’s efforts to mark a key diplomatic milestone from Richard Nixon’s 1972 visit to China
- Senior US officials stay away from event, but former treasury secretary Jacob Lew warns ‘Russian aggression threatens to drive us further apart’
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The crisis in Ukraine cast a shadow over Chinese efforts to mark the 50th anniversary of an important milestone in its relationship with the United States as a former American official warned that ties would worsen if Beijing maintains its current position.
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“Fifty years ago, the USSR was a common threat that brought us together. Today, Russian aggression threatens to drive us further apart,” former US treasury secretary Jacob Lew said in an online speech to an event to mark the signing of the Shanghai Communique, which paved the way for the establishment of formal relations.
“This is the moment when nations of the world respecting international order are joining together condemning Russia’s illegal attack on Ukraine,” said Lew, now the chair of the board of directors at the National Committee on US-China relations, a non-profit organisation.
“China must decide where to stand and understand that the bilateral relationship with the US will only become more strained in the absence of a clear choice to stand with intervention.”
Monday’s event was hosted by the semi-official Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Shanghai municipal government to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the communique, signed at the end of president Richard Nixon’s visit to China in 1972.
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Those attending the event included a number of senior Chinese officials, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Shanghai Communist Party chief Li Qiang and Qin Gang, the ambassador to Washington.
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