Japanese Scholar Analyzes Trump-Xi Meeting: China's Upgraded Protocol Shows Urgency to Improve Relations

(CNA, Tokyo, 18th, Reporter Dai Ya-chen) Regarding the recent meeting between US President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japanese international politics scholar Kazuo Asano stated that China's significant upgrade in the reception protocol for Trump this time shows the importance and urgency Beijing places on improving US-China relations. At a seminar held by the Japan-US-Taiwan Relations Institute on the 16th, Asano Kazuo, a professor at Heisei International University and the keynote speaker, said in an interview after the event that although Trump often emphasizes the 'Group of Two' (G2) concept in recent years, as if the US and China are sufficient to dominate the global order, the results of this Trump-Xi meeting prove that this assertion is not valid. He pointed out that from the 1990s to around 2000, the United States was in a state where it could almost dominate global affairs, but today, even with US-China cooperation, major international issues such as the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East cannot be resolved, and the Taiwan issue is certainly not something the US and China can decide on their own. Regarding the Taiwan issue, Asano believes that the US side adopted a relatively cautious and calm attitude this time, and did not make statements that would excessively provoke China. Asano also mentioned that although Trump praised China and Xi Jinping many times during the talks, this is more likely based on realistic considerations in diplomacy and business negotiations, 'When doing business, of course, you praise your important clients highly.' In contrast, he believes it is more noteworthy that China significantly upgraded its reception protocol for Trump this time. During Trump's last visit to China, Xi Jinping took him to the Forbidden City, but this time they visited Zhongnanhai, a further upgrade, showing that Beijing holds great importance and a sense of urgency towards improving US-China relations; the US, to some extent, also responded to China's expectations. He further analyzed that the fundamental perception of China by the United States had already changed during the first Trump administration, and this change has continued into the Biden administration. Asano pointed out that from the speech by then-Vice President Mike Pence in 2017 to the series of speeches on China policy by senior Trump administration officials such as then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in 2020, the US side has clearly negated its China strategy of the past 30 years or so. He said that the United States had long believed that China would gradually move towards liberalization and accept democratic and human rights values after its economic growth, but this was all wishful thinking on the part of the US. Washington has now completely abandoned this idea. He pointed out that the current US-China relationship is now more at the level of how to use China and how to deal with China based on the current strategic needs of the United States. The past expectation that 'as long as China becomes rich and powerful, and its knowledge increases, it will become a partner with shared values' has now completely disappeared. (Editor: Tang Sheng-yang) 1150518