China ‘will not accept’ US challenges to its Communist politics, leaders

‘It is normal for China and the US to have some differences, but the key is to have mutual respect,’ Beijing’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi says in People’s Daily article
China has no intention to promote its political system or reject the democratic systems of the United States, he says

US-China relations

Sarah Zhengin Beijing

Published: 6:00pm, 29 Apr 2021

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China’s most senior diplomat has called for greater cooperation with the United States to ease tensions between them, but says Beijing will not tolerate any challenge to its political system or leadership.

Yang Jiechi, a Politburo member regarded as President Xi Jinping’s most trusted foreign policy aide, said in an article published in the Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily on Thursday that the two sides needed to “constructively handle” relations if they were to make a breakthrough akin to the ping-pong diplomacy in the 1970s that paved the way the establishment of formal diplomatic ties in 1979.

“Fifty years ago, China and the US were able to break the ice and establish diplomatic relations after a long period of confrontation,” he said.

“It is normal for China and the US to have some differences, but the key is to have mutual respect, equal treatment, and control and handle China-US relations in a constructive way to ensure it is on the right path of development.”

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While China had no intention to promote its own political system or development path, or to reject the democratic systems of the United States and other countries, Yang said that “if anyone challenges the Chinese Communist Party or China’s political system and leadership, the Chinese people will definitely not accept this”.

The article came as US President Joe Biden delivered a high-profile address to the US Congress on Wednesday evening, in which he painted the rivalry between China and the US as a fight between autocracy and democracy.

Biden said that Xi believed “democracy can’t compete in the 21st century with autocracies because it takes too long to get consensus”, and called for trillions of dollars worth of funding to enable his government to better compete with China.

China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi tells US not to follow ‘misguided’ Trump policies

While the two countries have sought to cooperate on issues like climate change, their efforts have been overshadowed by tensions on everything from trade and technology to ideology and strategic interests. While the US had hoped China would announce new commitments at the Biden-hosted Leaders Summit on Climate last week, Xi instead stressed it was developed nations – namely the US – that needed to do more on climate.

When Yang sat down with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Alaska last month, the tensions spilled over into the public sphere as the two sparred over their countries’ roles in the world order.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said over the weekend that while the Anchorage talks had ushered in new face-to-face interactions between the two countries, the US had not yet “stepped out of the shadow” of former US president Donald Trump and needed to find the “right way to engage with China”.

A leaders’ summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden (pictured on a visit to Beijing as vice-president in 2013) seems unlikely, an expert says. Photo: Getty Images/TNS

Liu Weidong, an expert on China-US relations at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that one of the key messages of Yang’s article was that Beijing would not tolerate any criticism of its Communist Party leaders or political system.

“The Chinese side is making clear that this is their red line and if the US touches it then there is no room for cooperation,” he said.

Although Biden is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin soon to try and defuse tensions between Washington and Moscow, Liu said it would be difficult for him to meet Xi as the US had made it clear China was its primary threat.

The combative Alaska meeting was a cautionary tale for both sides, he said.

“While Biden may have a softer attitude towards China, the US government is very clear that China is its biggest threat, so the conditions and environment for improving relations are not very good,” he said.

“The US and Russia are used to confrontation, but China and the US have traditionally had friendlier relations, so there is no need to force a summit between them – both sides should at least have a consensus on this point.”

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