China must ‘think of strategic bottom line’ in relations with US, expert says

International relations scholar also calls for Beijing to ‘make effective preparations to firmly take the initiative in times of major crisis and challenge’
He was speaking at an event in Shanghai marking the 50th anniversary of Richard Nixon’s visit to China

US-China relations

Jun Maiin Beijing

Published: 9:31pm, 24 Feb 2022

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China needs to consider its “strategic bottom line” in its relationship with the United States and be prepared for challenges, a prominent international relations expert says.

“We must see the internal and external changes as we seek to safeguard US-China ties,” said Yang Jiemian, president of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies.

“[We must] rid ourselves of wishful thinking, and prepare for multiple scenarios. [We] especially need to think of the strategic bottom line and make effective preparations so that we can firmly take the initiative in times of major crisis and challenge,” said Yang, whose elder brother Yang Jiechi is the Communist Party’s top diplomat and a Politburo member.

Yang Jiemian made the remarks on Tuesday during a panel discussion in Shanghai attended by around a dozen top Chinese international relations scholars.

He did not elaborate on what he meant by “strategic bottom line” or what preparations China should make, according to a summary of remarks from the event released on Wednesday.

Yang Jiemian, president of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, says China needs to “prepare for multiple scenarios”. Photo: Handout

It was one of the events being held in the city to mark 50 years since Richard Nixon’s visit to China and the release of the Shanghai Communique – stating the two sides’ intention to normalise relations – at the end of that trip on February 28, 1972.

While Beijing has said there will be more such events, US State Department spokesman Ned Price on Wednesday said he was “not aware of any plans at the moment for a statement” on the anniversary on Monday.

Speaking during the panel discussion, Yang said China was showing it was making an effort to improve relations with the US by commemorating the anniversary.

“The message from China is a clear and candid one,” he said. “US-China ties are at a low now, but in the long term – using [former supreme leader] Deng Xiaoping’s words – Sino-American relations must be improved.”

Yang was quoting Deng’s line when he met Brent Scowcroft, national security adviser for former US president George H.W. Bush, in Beijing in December 1989 – six months after he ordered a violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing.

Beijing may look for positives over US stance on Taiwan

Also speaking on Tuesday, Da Wei, an international relations professor with Tsinghua University, said a flexible approach was needed to manage tensions in the relationship.

“Fifty years ago … [the two sides] broke the ice as a result of a combination of principle and policy flexibility,” Da said. “Fifty years later … flexibility is still what’s needed to break the ice.”

Wu Xinbo, dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University, warned of the increasing risk of conflict.

“The [Joe] Biden administration has continued with the line of the [Donald] Trump administration’s China policy and downward perception on either side is worsening,” Wu said. “Confrontation is escalating, struggle is intensifying, and the risk of conflict is greater.”