Talks tried and tested way to keep ties on track

Under the Joe Biden administration, relations between Beijing and Washington may be described as having been frosty at best. Nonetheless, the two sides have demonstrated they have the ability to avert a crisis over the past four years. And with less than two weeks left before the changing of the guard in Washington, the outgoing Biden administration is leaving behind active channels of communication for the incoming administration.

Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng talked with United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday via video link. The talks as usual encompassed Washington's grievances, ranging from alleged cyberattacks by Chinese hackers and Chinese industrial overcapacity to so-called Chinese support for Russia in its conflict with Ukraine, as well as Beijing's complaints about US economic and trade restrictions targeting China.

But, as both sides underscored, the highlight was on the importance of communication and contact. Both sides agreed "to maintain communication, manage differences and continue to stabilize China-US economic relations during the transition period", according to Beijing's statement.

Also on Tuesday, Chinese State Councilor and Director of the China National Narcotic Control Committee Wang Xiaohong spoke with Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, via video link. After expressing their respective views surrounding alleged Chinese connections with the fentanyl crisis in the US, the two countries' chief drug-busters concluded their talks with a vow to continue to engage in dialogue and cooperation.

The China-US relationship has become what it is as both sides find themselves at odds on a widening range of topics in step with the changes, or simply perceived changes, in their comparative national strengths. In spite of Beijing's repeated assurances to the contrary, Washington politicians have identified Beijing as the US' foremost strategic competitor. Washington's subsequent claims of a noncoercive approach to the relationship, even its calls for "guardrails" to avoid a collision, have since been taken with a grain of salt by Beijing, which has learned that Washington's actions speak louder than its words.

Beijing rejects Washington's perception of the China-US relationship being defined by strategic competition, insisting such a definition carries an unnecessary layer of confrontational intent. Chinese diplomats have therefore kept appealing for Washington to "correct" its perception of China.

For all the unpleasant twists and turns in ties over the past four years, however, both sides have remained clear-eyed about the need to stabilize the relationship to ensure the stress points do not cause it to snap. Therefore, both sides are acutely aware of the significance of open, smooth communication channels. The most important recent progresses include the resumption of direct military-to-military contact, as well as those for economic and financial issues under He and Yellen's watch.

He and Yellen "spoke highly of the important role of China-US economic and financial working groups and other dialogue mechanisms", according to Beijing's account of their latest communication. Since their establishment in September 2023, each working group has held five face-to-face meetings, facilitating timely communication on key mutual concerns.

It remains to be seen whether or to what extent the existing channels of communication stay operational in Donald Trump's second term. After all, as some observers have pointed out, the first Trump presidency sidestepped most, if not all, of the over 90 communication channels it had inherited. But if Washington wishes to work with Beijing on key bilateral and global issues, such channels cannot be dispensed with.

US president-elect Trump is keenly aware of the benefit of the two governments working together. Just last month, he reiterated that the US and China could work together to solve global problems. In a Monday interview, he said he and Beijing had been engaging in exchanges through representatives.

"And I think we will probably get along very well," he predicted.

Subsequently, the Foreign Ministry in Beijing said China attaches "great importance" to Trump's remarks.

"China is willing to promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of Sino-US economic and trade relations," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun, highlighting mutual respect and win-win cooperation as the essential underlying principles for that.