China implicitly abandons 'new model of major power relations' with the US

Once a staple of Chinese media, the concept of a "new model of major-country relations" may now be quietly abandoned by its proponent, China.

According to foreignpolicy.com, over the years, at least since Xi Jinping became China's new leader after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, Chinese officials and media have been passionately repeating the concept of a "new model of major power relations" between China and the United States.

While China has embraced the term, the Obama administration has avoided mentioning it. The concept has never been explained in detail by China, beyond a general understanding of parity, equality, and shared responsibility between the United States and China.

After years of being repeated by senior Chinese officials, the concept seems to be starting to fade into obscurity.

This is a reality that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. Beijing’s pledges of a “new model” in its relations with a superpower like the United States have become a staple of Chinese media.

During the period surrounding Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the United States in September 2015 – the last time Xi set foot on American soil – the phrase "new model of major country relations" flooded all Chinese media and analytical forums.

China's then-and-current ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, mentioned the concept a total of 12 times in just one editorial in the People's Daily published before the visit.

But since then, the phrase “new model” has gradually disappeared from the documents and statements of Chinese leaders and media. According to data analysis results from Chinese search engine Qihoo, this concept has appeared less and less since the US presidential election with the unexpected victory of Mr. Donald Trump.

According to Chinese press and media documents reviewed, the phrase did not appear at all when Xi Jinping spoke to US President Donald Trump in a late and closely scrutinized phone call on February 10. It was also absent from the courtesy call between Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi and the US President on February 27 in Washington.

The disappearance of this concept has been gradual but obvious enough that at a press conference last February, a reporter asked Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang whether Beijing had “given up on building a new model of major-country relations after Mr. Trump took office.”

In his response, Mr. Lu Kang affirmed that there was no change in China's policy on relations with the US. The Chinese Foreign Ministry also made almost no direct criticism of the new owner of the White House.

It is quite ironic that a term that has recently sounded so catchy like the phrase “new model of great power relations” is quietly being “sunk”, considering that during his election campaign, Mr. Trump also called for a new approach to the US-China relationship.

No one knows exactly what Trump’s “new approach” means, except that he has criticized almost every aspect of Obama’s China policy. An analysis in the Global Times (China) on February 9 emphasized that Trump’s “America First” campaign slogan is “completely understandable,” since Beijing itself has its own “China First” policy.

The article also compared Mr. Trump’s call to “make America great again” with Mr. Xi’s oft-cited promise of “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” concluding that a “new model of major-country relations” would allow both leaders’ slogans to come true.

Despite Donald Trump’s seemingly rocky start to his presidency, US-China relations are slowly stabilizing. After harsh criticism of China during the election campaign, and then while awaiting his inauguration, Trump promised to review the “One China” policy, which Beijing considered “sacrosanct,” the new US president ended up acknowledging the policy within the first weeks of becoming the official owner of the White House.

“Death by China” author Peter Navarro has taken a senior position in the White House, but the China-critical economics professor’s influence is unlikely to be comparable to that of senior adviser Jared Kushner, whose family business has close business ties to Beijing, especially the Chinese insurance group Anbang.

The new US Secretary of Commerce, billionaire Wilbur Ross, is also someone who often expresses his admiration for the country and culture of China. Looking at the current White House team of President Donald Trump, one gets the feeling that the US is looking for a business partnership rather than getting into a trade war with China.

However, no matter how far the US-China relationship progresses under Donald Trump, it seems that both sides will have to find a new term to define it.

According to VNA/News