By Jerome A. Cohen
This Thursday, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, will meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Yang Jiechi, the PRC’s most senior foreign policy official, in Anchorage. This will be a fateful first meeting between the two leading foreign policy experts of the Biden Administration and their PRC counterparts. Even if it does not moderate tensions, let us hope that it does not make things worse.
The odds are that each side will restate its already well-known positions and then depart. But sober statesmen with a long view should try to identify and pursue areas of cooperation that will benefit both sides and the world community. Climate is only the most obvious of these. If things go well, perhaps progress may be made regarding trade, investment and technology transfer, and there could be some agreement on methods of seeking to resolve the many issues relating to the South China Sea. Sadly, there is not likely to be favorable movement regarding Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet or the general suppression of human rights throughout the Mainland. It would be good if consular premises that were recently closed could be reopened in both countries and journalists’ access improved.Reinstatement of the Fulbright program should also take place.
If the talks become open and sincere, I hope the US side will emphasize to the PRC the desirability for the PRC to act more humanely toward those who have been the targets of its repression. Release of the two Canadian Michaels, who are about to be put on trial, and clemency and release for Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and their Hong Kong colleagues as well as Jimmy Lai, Benny Tai, Martin Lee, Margaret Ng and other democratic figures would improve the PRC’s stature in the world. Beijing could still maintain its right, and even its claimed necessity, to exercise jurisdiction over the range of behavior involved in these varied cases. But clemency, including release from imprisonment, would in no way be inconsistent with PRC sovereignty. Similarly, termination of the Xinjiang detention camps and moderation of the many restrictions on Xinjiang Muslim society can only improve China’s international image.
We can hope for the best even while preparing for the worst.