President Xi Jinping told Mattis he would not give up an inch of land.
The visit of US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis to China could have been a normal routine event, the main content of which was to continue the dialogue between the US and Chinese defense departments. And according to the practice, the top US defense official did not necessarily meet with leader Xi Jinping.
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| US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. Photo: Reuters |
According to diplomatic protocol, the head of state may not need to meet with foreign ministers, moreover, the Secretary of Defense is not the first person on the US government's list.
However, President Xi Jinping received Mr. Mattis. It is clear that this is the desire of Chinese leaders to explain to the White House what Beijing is pursuing.
Many world media outlets have published the following words of the Chinese leader during his meeting with the US Secretary of State on June 27: "We will not give up an inch of our ancestral land, and we do not need any foreign land."
These words are consistent with the views expressed in Xi Jinping's report at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China late last year: "China will under no circumstances sacrifice the interests of other countries for its own development, and under no circumstances will it give up its legitimate rights and interests."
What should be noted? The fact is that Beijing's foreign policy is now directed towards specific territorial disputes, although without naming them. Xi Jinping explained to Mattis, who a month ago at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore condemned China's construction of military facilities on islands in the South China Sea, that Beijing will not back down on this issue. At the same time, they made it clear that Washington's current policy towards Taiwan, when there are attempts to politicize US-Taiwan relations, when the US increases military aid to Taiwan — is hopeless: the islands have been and will be part of a unified China.
"US Secretary of Defense James Mattis' visit to China is positive and constructive," an official representative of the Chinese Ministry of National Defense said in a statement.
Of course, dialogue at the negotiating table, even if it turns into an argument, is better than a clash of warships at sea. But does Mattis understand that Beijing will not change its position? Will US military vessels be forced to leave the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait? Indeed, for Trump, China remains the main rival on the world stage.
And after Xi Jinping's statements, is there any hope for Southeast Asian nations, whose ancestors inhabited some of the islands of the South China Sea?
