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US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping finally “met” to talk about the obstacles in the two countries’ relationship. The quotes are justified by the format of the meeting: as Xi has not left China since the Covid outbreak in Wuhan (2019/2020), the debate was online.
The two were together a few times when Biden was deputy to Barack Obama. The context, however, was different in this week’s chat: Since the 2020 campaign, the Democrat has been accused of being “soft on China,” an unforgivable shortcoming for an ever-growing number of voters.
Perhaps because of the need to “show service,” Biden and his team soon brought some of the thorniest issues on the bilateral agenda to the table.
- The president cited “concerns about the practices of the People’s Republic of China in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong, as well as human rights more fairly,” the statement said. The text also highlights disagreement with “China’s unfair trade and economic practices.”
​ - The thickest speech, however, seems to have ended there. Biden reaffirmed his commitment to the “one-China policy”, left between the lines that he does not support Taiwan’s independence and expressed his desire for the two countries to engage in peaceful competition.
The two asked for more collaboration in the area of ​​combating climate change and there was caresses:
- Washington has announced a new multiple-entry visa policy for Chinese journalists, a drag on the two countries’ negotiations since tough rules were imposed by Donald Trump on China’s correspondents.
- Beijing has indicated it can relax the rules for US businessmen on business visas to be able to travel to China.
While the American press sourly highlighted Biden’s alleged “weakness” in dealing with Beijing, journalists here in China echoed the summit with relative optimism. The meeting took up most of Xinwen Lianbo — the country’s most-watched nightly news — and several headlines highlighted Biden’s speeches about Taiwan.
Why it matters: it would be unrealistic to expect big changes on both sides. At major Chinese diplomacy events, the most controversial issues are discussed well before the public meeting and the common agenda is approved by both sides days in advance. If he had tried to appear tough, Biden would have been solemnly ignored by Xi, as has happened on other occasions when foreign leaders have stepped out of script during a meeting with him.
what also matters
The death of a dog aroused outrage in China. The animal was sacrificed by health authorities while the owner was taken to quarantine in a hotel in Jiangxi, a province located in the southeast of the country.
According to the owner (identified only as Fu), the condominium she lives in has been locked down and all residents quarantined after a small outbreak of Covid. Images captured by the security camera show employees fighting Covid entering her apartment and sacrificing the animal, attacked with iron bars.
- Local officials said officials had resolved to “harmlessly mitigate” a possible threat from Covid.
- Angry Internet users took over Weibo (network similar to Twitter), with the topic on the subject reaching almost 180 million hits until last Wednesday (17).
In time: there is no evidence that cats and dogs are capable of developing Covid or transmitting the Sars-CoV-2 virus. In some Asian countries, animals are being trained to identify who is infected.
China has announced even tougher rules for traveling to Beijing. Visitors are required to present a PCR test performed no later than 48 hours prior to travel. Flights from areas considered to be of medium risk will be canceled or subject to capacity reduction. Those from high-risk areas are not allowed to take off.
- The measures are part of a framework of government strategies to control the latest outbreak of the Delta variant in the country, responsible for the peak of 100 daily household infections in late October.
Beijing has not escaped the outbreak and is still struggling to zero cases with less than 100 days of hosting the Winter Olympics.
The efforts seem to be working. After weeks of reporting dozens of symptomatic cases every day, the numbers began to drop significantly.
The Chinese Communist Party has passed a resolution in which it calls the Cultural Revolution “a catastrophe” and directly blames Mao Zedong for the tragedy. The topic was discussed at the plenary meeting of the CPC Central Committee last week, but released just now.
Officially named “The Communist Party’s Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Last 100 Years”, the text attributes the Cultural Revolution to “an erroneous assessment of Comrade Mao who brought the most serious setback to the country since 1949”.
- The Cultural Revolution was a movement of political persecution launched in 1966, which was only ended when Mao died in 1976. There was destruction of historical books and monuments, arrest of intellectuals, millions of persecuted citizens, torture and violent and suicide deaths.
The document also mentions the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, attributing the event to “political unrest” promoted by domestic and foreign forces to destabilize the government. Official estimates estimate that 200 civilians died in the crackdown on student protests that year. Protesters say the number could have reached 3,400.
keep an eye
A survey showed that for 63% of citizens in more than 34 African countries, China’s economic and political influence is positive. The survey produced by Afrobarometer links the result to the escalation of Chinese investments in the region.
- China’s capital volume in the region jumped from US$11 billion in 2000 to US$192 billion in 2019.
The results are not very different for the United States: 60% of respondents consider the American influence positive, while 33% say they prefer the American development model to the Chinese one.
Why it matters: Africa is the main Chinese bet in the promotion of soft power, with the financing of scholarships for students and billionaire investments. The path, however, will be arduous. The Afrobarometer shows that Americans are the most admired in 23 of the 34 countries where the survey collected responses, although the Chinese have favored citizens in Niger, Botswana, Mali, Burkina Faso and Benin.
to go deep
- Days after arriving in Shanghai, I was informed that tests performed on arrival had identified that a passenger on my flight had been diagnosed with Covid-19. on my blog at sheet, I’ll detail how the situation was handled by everyone involved in fighting the pandemic in my surroundings and what clues the episode brings about the future of Covid zero policy here. (porous paywall, in Portuguese)
- Observa China receives this Saturday (20) the adviser minister for commerce at the Chinese embassy, ​​Qu Yuhui. Considered the main member of the Chinese team in dealings with Brazilian governments and parliamentarians, and deeply knowledgeable about the agreements between the two countries, Qu will talk about Chinese diplomacy and ecological civilization. Entries are limited and can be made. on here. (free, in Portuguese)
- The movie featuring Marvel’s first Chinese hero: Shang-Chi is now available on the Disney+ streaming service. Starring Chinese-Canadian Simu Liu, the production makes an interesting mix of the Avengers universe and various references to traditional Chinese legends. Good choice for the weekend. (paid, multiple languages ​​available)
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