By Fong Yuen

The U.S. Ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, announced his resignation. This was yet another unexpected turn of event in the U.S.-Sino diplomatic relations since the closure of the Chinese Consulate in the United States in Houston.

Branstad was regarded as “Xi Jinping’s old friend” by the outside world, and has received Xi Jinping in as early as 1985; Xi Jinping stayed in his home, and the two have maintained a close relationship for a long time. Donald Trump appointed him as the U.S. Ambassador to China mainly for his valuable, personal relationship with Xi Jinping – who would have guessed that no mercy lies even between old friends.

In general, when a diplomatic foreign envoy resigns, it could either be for personal reasons, for holding a different political view from the government, or because the two countries' diplomatic relations have severed and one is summoned back by the government. There is no particular direct reason for Branstad’s resignation. When he leaves his position and returns to the United States, he will help Trump with his presidential campaign, to prove that there are no issues with either his health or family, and that his cooperation relationship with Trump is normal; what could barely be counted as a reason might be that his article to the People’s Daily was being rejected recently, but such a reason would be too trivial to create such a fuss.

The only possible explanation is that the United States intentionally downgraded U.S.-Sino diplomatic relations. Just like the earlier closure of the Chinese Consulate in Houston, it was a diplomatic downgrade action taken by the United States.

After closing the Consulate General in Houston, the United States moved to announce a series of measures to restrict the freedom of movement of Chinese diplomats and to treat China’s foreign propaganda agencies as government agencies. The U.S.-Sino relations have been plunging until the most recent inexplicable resignation of the U.S. Ambassador to China. Under normal circumstances, the replacement of the ambassador would happen quickly to shorten the vacuum period so as not to affect diplomatic exchanges between the two countries. If the new ambassador is delayed in taking office, the U.S.-Sino relations will eventually be reduced to that of a chargé d’affaire.

The U.S.-Sino relations has long fallen below freezing temperature. Cui Tiankai, the Chinese Ambassador to the U.S., lamented that China and the U.S. are not talking. U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo announced in his earlier statement that the U.S. is not looking at what the CCP is saying, but what it is doing; that is to say, the United States is sick and tired of the CCP’s long-term habit of saying one thing and doing another, breaking promises, and playing games. Instead of wasting time entangling at the negotiation table, might as well let it be. Do as one likes, and whatever the CCP likes, let it be.

There are several similarities between Branstad’s resignation and the closure of the Consulate General in Houston: first, both were initiated by the United States, fast as lightning; second, there was no warning, once the mind was made it was done; third, there was no explanation, do as I please; fourth, there was no notification, totally not taking the Chinese side seriously; fifth, both incidents were chill, calmly executed.

The closure of the Houston Consulate General, as well as the lightning-resignation of Branstad both carry a certain air of humiliation that disregards diplomatic etiquette and is undoubtedly not giving China any face. It is a whole do whatever I want, however I want, an explicit provocation that does not care about China’s revenge.

After the CCP’s Consulate in Houston was closed, after a period of hesitation, it countered by closing the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu, a somewhat reciprocal retaliation. Now that Branstad has resigned, does China dare to summon the Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Cui Tiankai back home after a resignation?

With regards to where the U.S.-Sino tensions have developed to the present day, the United States has long been frustrated. In the last 40 years, the United States has always been on the CCP’s side: the most favored nation status, joining the WTO, educating Chinese students, and providing technological cooperation. 40 years of help turned the melancholic sick man into a fat and strong one, and without even a “thank you”, the CCP has instead returned with a plot twist: a deliberate one that is stabbing into the depth of the heart in an attempt to influence the internal affairs of the United States' internal affairs; stealing the American technology and turn it around to blackmail the United States; playing games in international organizations to weaken the status of the United States globally; piggy-back on the pandemic to attack the American economy, and the list goes on.

The United States learns from its mistakes, and vigorously reversed the relationship between the United States and China, turning it from a partnership to a hostile one, a total denial that leaves no mercy. At this point, does China have enough courage to go down this rabbit hole with the United States? It seems not. In the fields of technology and finance, the CCP still has a lot of weaknesses in the hands of the United States. Once decoupled, China will fall into a prolonged impasse both internally and externally, with unimaginable and immeasurable consequences. As such, before the last straw, the CCP is still attempting to maintain superficial contact and buy time. If Trump loses and Biden takes over, a new plan will be formed to clean up the mess.

China’s embarrassment lies in that the United States has made repeated moves to humiliate, and if it does not respond, it will appear aggrieved and be looked down upon; yet if Cui Tiankai resigns, the two countries' diplomacy will be downgraded, not to mention that Trump might go berserk with more “evil” actions, such as publicly acknowledging Taiwan’s sovereignty. Then what would the response be? Not responding means losing, but responding might bring about even bigger losses. If things continue as such, what is the end goal?

When Xi Jinping meets Donald Trump, both are arrogant and pompous. Call it destiny. On the grand stage of diplomacy, the show is just starting.

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