Editorial | Ties can improve if China and US engage in candid dialogue
- High-level talks between the countries’ defence chiefs a welcome sign but for peace to prevail, there has to be a commitment to ending military sabre-rattling
The words exchanged were candid rather than warm, to be expected given fractured ties. But being the first such contact between the sides in more than two years, it shows recognition that tensions are at a dangerous level and need to be cooled.
President Xi Jinping warned of the dangers just hours after the call in opening the annual Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan. Without referring directly to the US and its allies, he told delegates that a “cold war mentality, hegemonism and power politics will only breach global peace”.
He proposed a Chinese-led security initiative, rejected unilateral action and confrontation and advocated non-interference and respect for sovereignty.
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With the backdrop of the Russian war in Ukraine and US-driven sanctions and efforts to strengthen the Nato alliance, and Washington’s continued adversarial policy towards Beijing, there was no doubt in which direction his words were aimed.
The Ukraine crisis has been used by the US to further its rivalry with China, already tense over trade friction, human rights accusations and Chinese claims of sovereignty. Beijing’s refusal to condemn Moscow and the Taiwan issue were among topics broached by Wei and Austin in the call initiated by the American.