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The United States should be more conciliatory in its approach to dealing with China, according to a letter by 100 US academics and former policy advisers. Photo: AP

US actions hurting relations with China, 100 academics, policy advisers say in open letter to Donald Trump

  • Signatories, including former assistant secretary of state for east Asian and Pacific affairs Susan Thornton, say they are ‘deeply concerned about the growing deterioration’ of ties between the two countries
  • US ‘cannot significantly slow China’s rise without damaging itself’, they say

The actions of the United States have contributed to the “downward spiral” in the country’s relations with China, according to a group of 100 American academics, foreign policy experts and business leaders.

In an open letter addressed to US President Donald Trump and members of Congress, and published by The Washington Post on Wednesday, the signatories expressed their concern about the poor state of ties between the two powers, which have been locked in a trade war for the past year and have increasingly clashed on strategic fronts.

“We are deeply concerned about the growing deterioration in US relations with China, which we believe does not serve American or global interests,” said the letter, whose co-authors include Susan Thornton, a former US assistant secretary of state for east Asian and Pacific affairs, and J Stapleton Roy, a former US ambassador to China.

“Although we are very troubled by Beijing’s recent behaviour, which requires a strong response, we also believe that many US actions are contributing directly to the downward spiral in relations,” it said.

Susan Thornton, a former US assistant secretary of state for east Asian and Pacific affairs, was among the people who signed the open letter. Photo: Bloomberg

The high-profile advocacy for a more conciliatory approach to dealing with Beijing comes as tensions between the two nations continue to simmer, and with many in Trump’s administration favouring confrontation to contain and counter Beijing’s rise.

While acknowledging concerns about China’s “behaviour” – including its tighter social controls, more aggressive foreign policy and failure to deliver on trade reforms – it said there was no consensus in Washington to adopt an “overall adversarial stance toward China”.

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The letter instead outlined seven propositions for the US, including strengthening the role of moderate Chinese leaders and working with Washington’s allies to encourage Beijing’s participation in the global order.

During his presidential campaign in 2016, Trump used anti-China rhetoric to whip up public support and he has remained true to that stance as leader.

As well as using tariffs on Chinese goods to force trade reforms and urging its allies not to use 5G technology from telecoms giant Huawei, Washington has actively denounced Beijing’s militarisation of the South China Sea, mass repression and detention of ethnic Uygurs in its western Xinjiang region, and its practices under its Belt and Road Initiative.

The letter’s signatories argued that Beijing was not an “economic enemy or an existential national security threat” to be confronted on every front, and that US efforts to decouple China economically would damage Washington’s international role and reputation.

The open letter argues that Beijing is not an “economic enemy or an existential national security threat” to be confronted on every front. Photo: Reuters

The letter said also that fears China would replace the US as the global leader were “exaggerated”, as it was not clear if Beijing wanted or was able to achieve such a position. China’s authoritarian government would be unable to “gather meaningful international support”, it said.

“The United States cannot significantly slow China’s rise without damaging itself,” it said. “The best American response to these practices is to work with our allies and partners to create a more open and prosperous world in which China is offered the opportunity to participate. Efforts to isolate China will simply weaken those Chinese intent on developing a more humane and tolerant society.”

‘China hasn’t won, but it hasn’t lost either’

Among the letter’s other signatories were MIT political science professor M Taylor Fravel, Johns Hopkins professor emeritus David Lampton, Kissinger Institute director Robert Daly, Brookings Institution director Cheng Li, Harvard University professor emeritus Ezra Vogel and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace senior fellow Michael Swaine.

Former policymakers, and representatives of the military and business communities were also represented, including former US trade representative Carla Hills, former national intelligence officer for East Asia Paul Heer, former US army attaché to China Dennis Blasko, and US-China Business Council president Craig Allen.

The letter said the United States needed to appraise Chinese goals and behaviour realistically, while rededicating its own efforts to “serve as a model for others”.

“Ultimately, the United States’ interests are best served by restoring its ability to compete effectively in a changing world and by working alongside other nations and international organisations rather than by promoting a counterproductive effort to undermine and contain China’s engagement with the world,” it said.

The United States needs to realistically appraise Chinese goals and behaviour, while rededicating its own efforts to “serve as a model for others”, the letter says. Photo: Reuters

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said that he supported the “rational and objective voices and opinions” in the letter.

“China and the US are not enemies,” he said. “We definitely cannot allow conflict and differences define the current state of Sino-US relations, and even more than that, we cannot let bias and misunderstanding control the future of our relations.

“We believe that objective, rational, accommodating voices will win over those prejudiced, fanatical, zero-sum positions.”

But some observers were sceptical of the arguments in the letter, saying that Beijing already viewed Washington as its enemy.

China watcher Bill Bishop wrote in his newsletter Sinocism that a non-adversarial approach to Beijing “does not have a great record over the last decade, and if anything has emboldened the Chinese side”.

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A tougher US line might also weaken Chinese President Xi Jinping’s position and create space for more moderate Chinese voices, he said.

“There does need to be a correct balance of cooperation and competition, but the US does need to take a much tougher approach now to reset expectations and the relationship, as we have conditioned the PRC [People’s Republic of China] to getting away with few to no costs for what we see as bad behaviour for far too long,” he said.

Derek Grossman, national security and Indo-Pacific analyst at the Washington think tank Rand Corporation, said that while there was nothing essentially wrong with the letter, it downplayed Xi’s intentions.

“China wants to rewrite the rules to fit its new-found status – antithetical to US interests,” he tweeted on Friday. “China not an enemy, but adversary for sure. Is that controversial?”

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Open letter from 100 US experts tells of concern at poor relations with China
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