Mulan case study: How China and the US can prevent tensions from boiling over
- China should stop retaliating when Americans exercise free speech in America – without that safety valve, bilateral pressures and controversies can only build up
- In Mulan’s case, should Disney apologise to Americans and Beijing acknowledge its right to do so, without threatening its business in China, tensions would decrease
In the broadest sense, I see the US-China relationship like a mobile phone connection to a cell tower. In a perfect scenario, there are five bars of service connecting the two – five diplomatic forces that either connect the two nations or distance them: politics, national security, human rights, culture and commerce.
I strongly believe the United States and China can continue their collaborative yet competitive relationship, while also sharing little common ground on the three diplomatic forces of politics, national security and human rights. Why? Because of the other two forces – culture and commerce.
But if that stops, the final two bars of mobile service go blank. The connection between phone and tower ends. The world’s two superpowers stop communicating.
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Are Xi Jinping’s China and Donald Trump’s US destined for armed conflict?
So, here is an idea focused on the disputed area of human rights. China should simply let Americans voice their opinions in America without the threat of market retaliation. China’s recognition of Americans’ free speech rights would surely go a long way to easing bilateral pressures.