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https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3079551/what-it-means-hong-kong-when-chinas-top-diplomat-us-says
Hong Kong/ Politics

What it means for Hong Kong when China’s top diplomat to US says New York is his favourite American city

  • Chinese ambassador Cui Tiankai urges new dawn for Sino-US relations amid Covid-19 hostilities
  • Hong Kong having to take sides in blame game between the world superpowers is last thing the divided city needs
Cui Tiankai, China's ambassador to the United States. Photo: Reuters

“New York is my favourite city in America.”

China’s top envoy to the US has been repeating this message recently, amid a bitter blame game between the world’s two major powers over the origin and the handling of the global public health crisis caused by the spread of Covid-19.

In his latest interview with the New York-based Eurasia Group, a leading global political risk consultancy, Chinese ambassador Cui Tiankai urged a change of mindset among major global leaders and advocated China-US cooperation to fight the pandemic.

Cui Tiankai, China’s ambassador to the United States, is trying to ease tensions between the world superpowers during the global health crisis. Photo: AFP
Cui Tiankai, China’s ambassador to the United States, is trying to ease tensions between the world superpowers during the global health crisis. Photo: AFP

Cui then expressed his personal fondness of this vibrant US city currently under lockdown and now the coronavirus epicentre of the country, wishing every New Yorker the best. Cui’s remarks prompted Ian Bremmer, founder of the group, to reply: “Me too, that’s why I’m not going anywhere.”

On the front line tackling the many ups and downs of China-US relations, Cui has emerged as one of China’s best and most sophisticated diplomats. While firm in representing China’s interests, his approach can be soft and gentle – a Chinese saying would describe it as “wrapping a needle in cotton wool”.

At a time when China is being vilified over the coronavirus crisis by certain American politicians, and Chinese diplomats based in Beijing or overseas are being allowed to proactively hit back, Cui has stuck to his personal style in handling complicated and tough matters.

He knows, as he pointed out in this interview, that it’s crucial to have “a supportive public opinion for cooperation between our two countries”.

Cui Tiankai ranks New York as his favourite city in the United States, which overtook Italy at the weekend as the country with the biggest coronavirus death toll. Photo: AFP
Cui Tiankai ranks New York as his favourite city in the United States, which overtook Italy at the weekend as the country with the biggest coronavirus death toll. Photo: AFP

But it’s not a perfect world, no matter how hard Cui and others on both sides stress the importance of cooperation. The reality is, calls for not only decoupling between the US and China, but an entire rethink of the West’s relations with China, plus de-globalisation, are getting rampant, triggering a new round of critical debate on what the future world order should be.

Beijing is of the view that a crisis of Covid-19 magnitude only proves an even bigger need for greater global cooperation.

Meanwhile, regardless of the seemingly smooth personal relationship between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump, bilateral ties between the two countries are at the lowest tide in decades.

And growing calls for deeper reflection on globalisation also pose challenges for Hong Kong, which calls itself “Asia’s world city” and has long taken advantage of stable Sino-US relations.

Hong Kong continues to serve as mainland China’s gateway to the outside world under the “one country, two systems” policy, thanks in particular to its sound legal and financial systems, and has long played a functional go-between role, benefiting both the city itself and many foreign businesses, including American interests.

Nine months of social unrest, the US-China trade war, and a surge of populism, even racism, as the world retreats under self-imposed isolation to shut out Covid-19 – the last thing Hong Kong needs is to have to take sides if all this drives a further wedge between the two major powers.

The city will be torn between its loyalty to China, of which it is an undeniable part, and its commitment to decades-long economic ties with the US.

Hong Kong is divided enough already, and deeper hostility between China and the US will only add to its woes.

When Cui says New York is his favourite city, he’s making quite the diplomatic gesture, but the China-US relationship is much more than that.

For now, all Hong Kong can do is buckle up and get ready for a bumpy ride while hoping for the best.