The guardrail avoids hard collisions and immediate conflicts, which are not fundamental and long-term, while the boundaries are principled, with both behavioral boundaries and conscious boundaries, which are the embodiment of the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. It is necessary to set the boundaries of economic development and not continue to expand the scope of restrictions, so as to protect the fundamentals of Sino-US relations.
In the past few years, China-US relations have been hovering at a low point since the establishment of diplomatic relations, and both sides are trying to find ways and ideas to promote the rebound of bilateral relations. In July 2021, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Sherman visited China and proposed in Tianjin to install "guardrails" in the U.S.-China relationship to prevent and avoid conflict. At first glance, this proposal seemed to have a certain degree of reasonableness, and the two sides also started a discussion on it. But what I didn't expect was that the United States continued to do a series of things that were detrimental to China-US relations in the fields of Taiwan, the South China Sea, human rights, economy and trade, and investment. Facts have shown that the purpose of the United States in building the guardrail is not to protect both sides, but to stop only China. This condescending approach is clearly not going to work.
The Chinese side has repeatedly stated that the three joint communiqués and the basic norms governing international relations are the most important "guardrails" for stabilizing China-US relations. To promote the healthy development of Sino-US relations, it is not necessary to build hegemonic facilities that only allow state officials to set fires and not allow ordinary people to light lamps, but to first clarify the basic issues in line with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation. As a matter of fact, the US side has gradually become aware of the shortcomings of this formulation, both in terms of concept and practice. Since then, the US has formed some new concepts, such as accepting the "de-risking" proposed by Europe, but it has not jumped out of the old idea of condescending and zero-sum game, and the effect is hardly satisfactory. However, the task of stabilizing bilateral relations remains heavy and urgent. ** Pointing out that whether China and the United States can handle their relations well is related to the future and destiny of the world, and is a question of the century that the two countries must answer, Biden also said that the United States and China are the most important bilateral relations in the world. The two countries must also sit down and continue to engage and find ways to get along.
From January 26 to 27, 2024, Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China and director of the Foreign Affairs Office, held a new round of meetings with US Affairs Assistant Jake Sullivan in Bangkok.
Under such circumstances, it is necessary to seize in time the spark of wisdom that flashed in the communication between the heads of state and the working level of the two sides. From January 26 to 27, Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China and director of the Foreign Affairs Office, held a meeting with US Affairs Assistant Jake Sullivan in Bangkok. Wang Yi pointed out that all countries have serious concerns, but they must be legitimate and reasonable, and cannot engage in pan-politicization and pan-security, let alone use this to contain and suppress the development of other countries. The parties agreed to further discuss the border between *** and economic activity. Although it is mentioned here as the boundary of the world, it is also eye-catching, and it may be expanded into a "way" to guide the relationship between China and the United States, and applied to a larger scope.
For some time now, the United States has engaged in pan-politicization and security-widening and restricting bilateral economic, trade, people-to-people, and investment exchanges, which is the main indicator of the decline in Sino-US relations, and is fundamentally eroding the fundamentals of Sino-US relations. At present, there is still an impulse to continue to tighten restrictions in the United States, some restrictive practices are waiting to be legislated, and other more egregious ideas are being tested and may soon be implemented. If we do not step on the brakes in time, the fundamentals of Sino-US relations will be further damaged. One way to step on the brakes is to set the boundary between the world and economic development, and not to continue to expand the scope of restrictions, so as to protect the basic plate.
On January 12, 2024, Liu Jianchao, director of the International Liaison Department of the Communist Party of China, held a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington.
Guardrails are physical, avoiding hard collisions and immediate conflicts, and are not fundamental and long-term. If the collision is too intense, it may break through the guardrail. Due to different values, guardrails have different psychological and decision-making effects on both parties. The boundary is principled, with both behavioral boundaries and consciousness boundaries, which are the embodiment of the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. The role of borders is not to stop them through diplomatic "facilities" when they occur, but to fundamentally reverse perceptions and prevent conflicts before they occur.
This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, and the meeting between President Nixon and the Prime Minister and Secretary of State Kissinger half a century ago first set the tone and demarcated the boundaries for handling Sino-US relations from the perspective of world outlook, epistemology, and the general trend of the world. **And Biden** have had many meetings, and the main content of the talks is also the basic direction, basic principles, and basic boundaries of China-US relations, and the worldview and direction of China-US relations, and we must be good at finding inspiration from them.
Boundaries are also the bottom line and values, and the cognitive boundaries are stronger than the physical guardrails. As a responsible major country, China has always strictly abided by international law on issues involving the core and key interests of the other side, and has borders not only with the United States, but with any country. In other words, the United States cannot behave without borders. For example, the Taiwan issue is the core of China's core interests and the foundation of the political foundation of Sino-US relations, and if a guardrail is established to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, the United States must act within the boundaries of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries and above the bottom line of non-China, which is more effective than any guardrails imposed on China.
Author: Han Liqun, Associate Researcher, China Institute of Contemporary International Relations **China-US Focus WeChat Official Account Note: This article only represents the author's point of view and does not represent the position of this **).