"Central America Must Return to a Stable Path"… China Urges Ahead of Summit

Communist Party Organ People's Daily Commentary Emphasizes
"Must Return to a Healthy Development Track as Soon as Possible"

As U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping prepare for a summit next month, the Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper, the People's Daily, has emphasized the 'stability' of bilateral relations. Unlike the United States, which has actively publicized the summit agreement, China has been reluctant to make public remarks, leading to analysis that this could be a positive signal.

On the 31st, the People's Daily of China stated in a commentary, "Recently, China and the United States have conducted a series of important high-level exchanges, maintained friendship, and positive signals have appeared in bilateral relations," urging that "both sides should return to a healthy and stable development track as soon as possible."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

It also emphasized, "The healthy and stable development of China-U.S. relations not only aligns with the fundamental interests of both countries and their peoples but also meets the common expectations of the international community," adding, "We must uphold the three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation, and based on the consensus reached in Bali, stop the collapse of relations and promote stability."

Furthermore, it stated, "Currently, the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, and the international landscape is also experiencing significant shifts, so the world needs a generally stable China-U.S. relationship more than ever," stressing, "As former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger recently pointed out, peace and development between China and the U.S. benefit not only the two countries but also the entire world." This message appears to underscore the significance and importance of the upcoming summit.

The People's Daily asserted, "History and reality have repeatedly proven that China and the U.S. benefit from cooperation and suffer losses from confrontation, and cooperation has always been the best choice for both countries," citing past cooperation examples such as counterterrorism, responses to the international financial crisis, Ebola virus containment, and climate change agreements. It further stated, "China and the U.S. are the world's two largest economies, accounting for more than one-third of the global economic total, with populations approaching one-quarter of the world’s total, and bilateral trade accounting for one-fifth of the global volume, with very closely integrated interests," arguing, "The common interests between the two countries must be valued, and each other's success is not a threat but an opportunity."

Regarding the recent deepening conflicts between the U.S. and China, it attributed the cause to "serious discrepancies in the U.S.'s perception and positioning of China," criticizing, "Some in the U.S. adhere to Cold War thinking and surround and suppress China under the name of competition. This approach only pits China and the U.S. against each other and drives the world into a 'new Cold War' of division and turmoil."

Earlier, on the 27th (local time), the White House announced that in the meeting between National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Wang Yi, member of the Chinese Communist Party Central Political Bureau and Foreign Minister, "both sides reaffirmed their desire to maintain this strategic communication channel and to further promote high-level diplomacy, including cooperating for a meeting between President Biden and President Xi Jinping in San Francisco in November." Meanwhile, China has withheld definitive reports on the bilateral summit.

Bloomberg News evaluated the People's Daily commentary by stating, "China's major Communist Party organ has called for improved relations with the U.S.," and assessed that "this is a sign of stabilizing relations ahead of a possible leaders' meeting between the world's two largest economies."