Possibility of high level talks at the Ministry of Defense following discussions on climate, trade and finance
[중국 외교부 제공. 재판매 및 DB 금지]
(Beijing = Yonhap News) Correspondent Cho Joon-hyeong = Since the first face-to-face summit between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bali, Indonesia on the 14th, talks between the US and China in various fields have being happening one after the other.
According to the announcement from the Chinese side, at the summit, both sides agreed to maintain strategic communication and regular dialogue between the foreign affairs team and to continue dialogue on macroeconomic policy, economy and trade among the finance teams.
They also agreed on dialogue and cooperation related to health, agriculture, and food security, and joint efforts for the success of the 27th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27).
Within a week of that, discussions were held between the two countries in areas such as climate, trade, and finance, and there are forecasts that discussions in the field of defense will be held soon.
First of all, on the occasion of COP27, which ended on the 20th with an agreement to establish a fund to compensate the ‘loss and damage’ of developing countries suffering from a climate disaster, the dialogue channel between John Kerry, the special envoy of the United States for climate change, and reinstated Xie Zhenhua, China’s special envoy for climate change issues.
The communication between the US and China related to climate change was not small because it was one of the channels that China blocked in response to US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August.
In addition, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Governor Li Kang of the People’s Bank of China held a two-hour meeting in Bali on the 16th, during the G20 summit, to discuss issues such as rising international energy prices.
US Trade Representative Catherine Thai and China’s Trade Minister Wang Wentao met at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit held in Bangkok, Thailand on the 18th to discuss trade issues. It is estimated that the issue of easing high tariffs on China, which has been reviewed by the Biden administration, has been discussed.
In addition, at the 9th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM-Plus) to be held in Cambodia on the 22nd to 24th, Chinese Ministry of National Defense spokesman Tan Kefei said that he is open to exchanges with the US , suggesting the possibility of communication between the minister of defense and senior officers below him.
The Global Times, a Chinese state-run newspaper, reported on the 16th that “China-US military exchanges and dialogues may soon resume after a months-long hiatus, and the two militaries may have already begun work level relations.”
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If dialogue is held between the defense authorities of the two countries, there is a possibility that China will restore working-level defense ministry discussions, maritime military security advisory body meetings, and theater commander-in-chief communication channels that China declared cut off. August.
In particular, it is worth noting that China has recently been active in dialogue with the United States. The spokesman’s comment was unusual considering the Chinese authorities’ practice of being extremely careful about making relevant comments before agreeing on a date for negotiations with the United States.
In the same context, it was also impressive that the Chinese side actively revealed through its Chinese media that President Xi Jinping had a brief conversation with Vice President Kamala Harris, the vice president of the United States on the 19th, on the occasion of APEC. China released a photo from the official Xinhua News Agency showing President Xi speaking with his hands tied together.
[중국 외교부 홈피 캡처.재판매 및 DB금지]
The reason why the two countries, which had gone through a cooling period after Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, resumed dialogue seems to have nothing to do with the fact that both countries have been able to afford to comfortably end major political events (20th China Party Congress and US mid-term elections).
Before an important political schedule, clarity of public and US policies was offered, but with the schedule over, it seems possible to speculate whether the two countries are trying to manage the bilateral relationship from a practical and pragmatic point of view.
The nature of the bilateral relationship of fierce strategic competition has not changed, but it is read as a change as both countries feel the tactical need to avoid armed conflict and manage relations stably while cooperating on international issues such as change in the climate and response to the global economy. recession..
In a phone call with Yonhap News Agency on the 21st, Moon Il-hyeon, a professor at the Chinese University of Political Science and Law, said, “The US-China summit in Bali had the meaning of putting up a ‘guard rail’ so that we the bilateral relationship would be derailed.” “, he evaluated.
From South Korea’s perspective, it seems to be something to keep an eye on whether the US and China can have a meaningful dialogue even over the North Korean nuclear issue. Attention is focused on whether there will be a dialogue between the chief negotiators or the foreign ministers of the two countries on the North Korean nuclear issue, which is an international security issue related to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and related to the strategic competition between the USA and China.
jhcho@yna.co.kr
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2022/11/21 13:27 Send
