Opinion | Why was General Li, Chief of Chinese Military, the first Kissinger met in Beijing?
By Augustus K. Yeung
INNTRODUCTION
Why was Kissinger, a centenarian, and ordinary US citizen, in Beijing? The visits of Blinken, Yellen and Kerry dispatched by President Biden have rendered the situation unusual. And Gina Raimondo, the Commerce Secretary is scheduled to have talks with her Chinese counterpart.
Why is Washington going out of its way to mend ties with Beijing?
American hegemony is not likely to shed off its skin as a wolf, despite its good intentions of pretending to be a sheep. By now, the Chinese should have learned from their dealings with Washington that the word "ties" are synonymous with "lies", which can be switched around to suit American strategic purposes.
The purpose of America building a "detent" with China maybe a gimmick, a beautiful lie; the real motive lies in its "sense of urgency". The U.S. has lost its sense of control over the situation in the Taiwan Strait – since the visit of Nancy Pelosi, resulting in PLA spewing and erupting like a furious volcano, the magnitude of wrath that was rarely seen in years.
Starting last August, Chinese fighter planes and naval ships have been crossing the "mid-line", supposedly separating the two sides – between mainland China and Taiwan.
And the Chinese military has since suspended communications with its U.S. counterpart's top level of command – in effect disarming Lloyd Austin, the belligerent U.S. Secretary of Defense.
For a hegemony which takes pride in its former "strategic ambiguity", and now "strategic deterrence" such a state has put the U.S. in a grave position of psychological suspense, a cognitive dissonance, causing a "sense of urgency" and not knowing exactly what to do next!
This is an enviable position. The PLA can turn the table – as the U.S. military is now forced to be guessing what the PLA is up to – instead of having the usual convenience of calling up its counterpart by phone and finding out what's going on.
Such is an undiscovered military achievement as far as China is concerned.
The reader should now go over the following adapted text, and then we can discuss how best to explore and exploit further this optimal situation in the concluding section of this article.
Washington has said Beijing refused talks between Austin and Li…
When veteran US diplomat and Henry Kissinger began a surprise visit to Beijing this week, China's defense chief was the first official he met, the South China Morning Post reported.
The meeting with General Li Shangfu came as military ties between the two nations are strained by geopolitical tensions and sanctions – with Li himself on Washington's sanction list.
It also followed rare talks at the Pentagon last week between Xie Feng, China's ambassador to the US, and Ely Ratner, the US assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs.
According to Lu Xiang, a researcher on US-China relations at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the US is likely to have a greater "sense of urgency" than China to resume military-to-military communications.
Lu said that urgency came from activities of the PLA near Taiwan, which have intensified since Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan last August, when she was US House speaker.
Beijing saw Pelosi's trip as a violation of its sovereignty – retaliated by cutting off dialogue between military theatre command leaders and working meetings with the US Department of Defense. Now, nearly every day, the PLA sends warplanes and ships near the island, forcing Taiwan's military to scramble its aircraft in response.
"The US hopes to use military-to-military contact with China to try to get the PLA to cut back on its military activities near Taiwan." Lu said. "That should explain its sense of urgency.
Beijing has accused the US of declining to create the conditions needed for dialogue…
China has said the US declined to create the conditions needed for dialogue by not lifting the sanctions it has imposed on General Li.
Washington has sent multiple officials to Beijing to push for a "detent" including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and presidential climate enjoy John Kerry. Beijing is also talking to Washington – to arrange a visit by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
The US State Department said it had heard from Beijing about Kissinger's planned trip to China when Blinken visited in June. It said Kissinger was in China under his own volition – and was not acting on behalf of Washington.
Zhou Bo, a senior fellow at Tsinghua University's Centre for International Security and Strategy, said the meeting between Kissinger and Li would not be enough to improve military ties. "Kissinger could perhaps deliver some message," said Zhou, a retired PLA senior colonel.
"But I don't think the meeting had much use for improving relations – because China has made its position very clear. Be it through its defense or foreign ministry, China has been very firm on its position – about lifting sanctions on Minister Li."
Zhou did not believe Washington would lift the sanctions. (Source: SCMP)
CONCLUSION
Washington's lifting of sanctions is now insignificant – as China is in no hurry.
China can set targets such as creating a new normal, allowing the PLA and its KMT counterpart to peacefully patrol the Taiwan Strait. After all, this has been happening since last August.
China has the upper hand. Beijing can raise its stake by not just asking Washington to lift its sanctions against General Li; It can request the Americans to abandon Lloyd Austin, who bends on bruising Beijing and the PLA.
Recently, Xi Jinping urged, "Build on Saudi-Iranian reconciliation." Perhaps that includes reconciliation between the PLA and its counterpart in Taiwan. And so, China can tell Washington and its Western allies to pull their forces out of the Taiwan Strait. After all, who needs the 7th Fleet if the Chinese themselves can peacefully or "jointly" protect their sovereignty?!
This maybe what General Li meant – when he asked Washington to meet Beijing "halfway", according to Kessinger.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
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