US-China talks: Mike Pompeo’s seven-hour meeting with Yang Jiechi ‘helps atmosphere’ – but statements reveal divisions
- The countries’ top diplomats indicate a wish to prevent a further deterioration in relations
- But the two sides give differing accounts of the meeting and US efforts may be driven by this year’s election, some observers say
No consensus was reached in talks between China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday, but the two had dinner and spoke for seven hours in what observers said showed a willingness to maintain dialogue and keep their relations at least at the current level.
Beijing claimed the meeting had been “constructive” and said Yang had laid out China’s position on Hong Kong, Taiwan and Xinjiang, reiterating that the US should stop interfering in its internal affairs, according to a statement by the Chinese foreign ministry.
Those sensitive issues were not mentioned in a brief statement by the US state department. Instead, it said Pompeo had stressed “the need for fully reciprocal dealings between the two nations across commercial, security and diplomatic interactions”, and highlighted “the need for full transparency and information sharing to combat the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and prevent future outbreaks”.
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Taoran Notes, a social media account affiliated with the official Economic Daily newspaper that is used by Beijing to deliver its messages about China-US trade expectations, said cooperation was “the only correct choice” for the world’s largest two economies.
“Amid the current situation, that China and the US sat together to have constructive dialogue, regardless of any outcome, is a proactive move worthy of recognition,” it said.
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“Pompeo and Yang would not be the officials to hammer out a trade deal, but rather they would explore ways to generally improve the atmosphere,” Roy said. “More bilateral discussions are likely before the election, not necessarily with the same officials or the same format.”
Roy said the US state department’s statement was “extremely brief”, possibly reflecting an awareness of ongoing revelations about Trump’s previous dealings with Chinese President Xi Jinping by John Bolton, the former US national security adviser.
“Perhaps the White House’s thinking is to downplay the [Hawaii] meeting as much as possible, even make Americans forget about it, rather than have them interpret the results through the lens suggested by Bolton,” Roy said.
“Now, thanks to Bolton, Trump is under more scrutiny to deliver results that prove he is looking out for America’s interests, not just his own.”
The diplomats’ meeting came with relations between the world’s two largest economies at their lowest point in decades and the two governments facing off on multiple fronts including technology, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the South China Sea – despite signing an interim trade deal in January.
In the run-up to the talks, both sides were tight-lipped about their expectations, and related developments underlined the difficult matters still to be resolved.
The US commerce department this week allowed US tech companies to work on 5G standards with Chinese telecoms maker Huawei.
As Pompeo and Yang were meeting, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told a Congress committee that China had bought about US$10 billion worth of American products since January’s interim deal. He also said Chinese officials had reiterated their purchase commitment.
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Liu He, the Chinese vice-premier who led China’s delegation in the trade talks, said on Thursday morning at a financial forum in Shanghai that both countries should clear away distractions and create conditions to jointly implement the so-called phase one trade deal.
But on the same day, Trump signed into law a bill authorising sanctions against Chinese officials over the mass internment of Uygurs in Xinjiang, in China’s far west, triggering condemnation from Beijing.
Lu Xiang, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), said any move by the US signalling an easing of tensions was intended to boost Trump’s presidential re-election campaign.
“A relatively stable China-US relationship would enable Trump to brag that only he is capable of managing relations with China,” Lu said.
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Liu Weidong, a US affairs specialist with the CASS, said the Hawaii meeting would do little to improve relations before the election, underlined by differences between the governments’ statements.
“The mutual distrust cannot be fixed by one or two dialogues,” Liu said. “I see no chance to improve ties before the election, or before the new administration comes to power – only for relations to get worse.”
