by Li Ping

Subsequent to the news spreading that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is going to meet Yang Jie-chi, Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, in Hawaii soon, the CCP mouthpiece which earlier condemned Pompeo as the “public enemy of humanity” and “shameless immoral cold-blooded politician”, immediately published comments that “the friendship between the people of China and the US is unstoppable”, intending to build good momentum for the meeting. Is the CCP unexpectedly shaking hands to make it up with the “public enemy of humanity” because the friendship between China and US’s people is unstoppable? Or now that the billowing torrents of US sanctions, CCP power struggle, and the second wave outbreak of Wuhan pneumonia in Beijing are unstoppable?

Yang Jie-chi is not a warrior-wolf type diplomat

Since China and the US signed the first phrase of trade agreement early this year, top level meetings between the two have stopped. The last call Pompeo made with CCP top brass was on April 15, when both Yang Jie-chi and he reiterated their cooperation to fight against the new coronavirus. But after Pompeo criticized China for covering up the epidemic and denying US scientists’ access to China to learn about the origin of the virus, China state-owned media started to attack Pompeo personally. On April 27, CCTV news network aired the commentary “By spreading political virus Pompeo is turning himself into the public enemy of humanity”, describing Pompeo as “deranged”, “rumor-mongering machine”, “accomplice to the virus”, and “with anti-intellect and anti-human color”. Subsequently, CCTV, the People’s Daily and Xinhua News Agency took turns to criticize Pompeo, regarding him as “shameless immoral cold-blooded politician”, and “breaking the bottom line of being human”.

While the words still ring in one’s ears, CCP mouthpiece starts to contradict itself, breaking the ice of China-US top level meeting. Xi Jin-ping dispatching Yang Jie-chi is also a sign of good will. Moreover, Yang Jie-chi is a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee with his rank higher than that of State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. In his past meetings and phone calls with Pompeo, Yang used to do so in his capacity as the Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs in the past while the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs had Xi Jin-ping as the Director, Li Ke-qiang as the Deputy Director, and Wang Qi-shan as a member in the working committee. What’s more, Yang Jie-chi has a softer look than Wang Yi, rather than a warrior-wolf diplomat. He interacted well with the US when he was the Foreign Minister and Chinese Embassador to the US.

The media described this China-US top brass meeting as a sudden change in wind. Yet it is doubtful whether it can ease China-US relations which have been worsening in the past six months. The recent China-US conflicts lie in the origin and compensation issues of Wuhan pneumonia, and also in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South China Sea problems. With the CCP forcing through the Hong Kong version of National Security Law and Pompeo submitting a report to the Congress to confirm Hong Kong’s loss of high autonomy, Trump declared to revoke Hong Kong’s special status and sanction China and Hong Kong officials. CCP state-owned media even proclaimed that China and the US had started “the Battle of Hong Kong”. In the beginning of the battle, why are the two sides seeking a truce? It is simply because the balance of power is tilted. Both the spread of the epidemic and anti-racist rallies in the US affected Trump’s governance and re-election. He needs to reduce the obstruction from China, and he needs China to live up to the trade agreement.

Xi Jin-ping faces pressure from three big mountains

Xi Jin-ping is willing to make his peace with “public enemy of humanity”, because he is facing pressure from three big mountains. Internal stabilization does not necessarily resolve external aggression. One is the tough stance of the US to sanction China and Hong Kong. The report of the Republican Study Committee recommends sanctions against senior officials like Wang Yang and Han Zheng, which are even more intimidating. Another one is CCP power struggle made public. After Li Ke-qiang disclosed there are 600 million low-income people in China and advocated street vender economy to secure jobs and livelihood of the people, he was besieged and boycotted by Xi’s clan. These have provoked demonstrations by some city residents demanding “I want a stall”, and have made it difficult for provincial and municipal officials to simply support Xi’s clan. The third one is the new wave of Wuhan pneumonia outbreak in Beijing, which has prompted provinces to ban citizens from visiting Beijing, and put personnel back from Beijing in quarantine. It definitely has impeded the big plan of resumption of work and manufacture, and menaced Zhongnanhai.

However, the CCP has always puffed itself up at its own cost. Even though Pompeo can meet Yang Jie-chi these days, the result may not look promising. The CCP might prepare to kneel down before the US, yet it will try hard to remain “great, glorious and righteous”. That is why the state-media have stressed the importance of people’s friendship, to conceal the viciousness of the previous personal attacks directed at Pompeo. The CCP might intend to shell out for redemption, yet it will not admit despicably covering up Wuhan pneumonia epidemic. The CCP might bear part of the US sanctions, yet it will not shelve the barbaric legislation of Hong Kong version of National Security Law. In case the US fails to keep up the pressure, even if it’s just a strategic yield, it might have impact on its allies’ refusal to appease CCP, and Hong Kongers’ fight against autocracy, and give the CCP another chance - then the world will suffer another calamity.

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