Beijing: Desperate for a diplomatic breakthrough in the face of a troubled domestic situation, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga achieved his goal of becoming the first foreign leader to be hosted by new US President Joe Biden at the White House.
The two sides launched “a CoRe partnership” according to a joint statement, showing the world how close the two countries are and what issues they will work together on. The Chinese foreign ministry hit back at the joint statement, vowing to take “all necessary measures” to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development rights. Chinese Vice Minister Le Yucheng also rebuked the misunderstandings and accusations on China about issues related to Xinjiang, Hong Kong and expounded the country’s core stances on the Taiwan question in an interview with the media.
Le stated: “No country is superior to others and in the position to act in a domineering way. China views all other countries as equals and we don’t look up or down on others. We view others on an equal footing.” Chinese experts stressed that it is time for the US to view China on an equal footing and realize that China could be its partner in various fields instead of an enemy. Calls for China-US relations to get back on track have been getting louder among scholars and diplomats from both China and the US. Especially as this year marks the 50th anniversary of Ping-Pong diplomacy, many expect signs of whether something similar to Ping-Pong diplomacy could be found to break the ice for the world’s most important bilateral relations, and the commitment to work together on the climate crisis may be one sign. One of the greatest breakthroughs for Suga’s visit was to reach a consensus with the US on launching a new competitiveness and resilience (CoRe) partnership based on their “shared security and prosperity.” Biden and Suga demonstrated their “intimacy” at the press conference with video online showing Biden patted Suga’s back softly after the conference was over.
China obviously topped the agenda at their meeting. In the statement, Biden reiterated opposition to China’s “unlawful maritime claims and activities in the South China Sea” and stressed serious concerns regarding the human rights situations in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
– The Daily Mail-Global Times News exchange item
