In a room full of business executives, Xi Jinping didn’t shy away from addressing a concern that has increasingly absorbed companies, governments and military strategists: Are the US and China headed for war?
The answer, according to the Chinese president, is a resounding no — at least if it’s up to him. Beijing just wants to be friends with the US, he said yesterday, and “has no intention to challenge the United States or to unseat it.”
Underscoring the point, Xi said: “China does not seek spheres of influence and will not fight a cold war or a hot war with anyone.”
The “hot war” reference appeared as a bid to lower tensions over Taiwan, the biggest long-term flashpoint between the world’s largest economies, and other places like the South China Sea.
While Xi has used the term previously, it’s the first time since then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan prompted China to respond with unprecedented military exercises surrounding the island, which the Chinese leader has vowed to take back by force if necessary.
Xi didn’t stop there: He also spoke about his time in Iowa, even mentioning the address where he stayed in his younger years, speaking about all the ways Americans and Chinese were similar. And he announced that pandas are heading back to American zoos — fully leveraging one of the most potent manifestations of Chinese soft (and cuddly) power.
It’s no accident Xi is trying to play nice. China’s economy is struggling to regain its footing after the Communist Party’s Covid controls took a toll. And foreign investors are looking elsewhere, as talk of war, export controls, corruption probes and executives being arrested all paint a grim picture.
To be sure, it’s going to take more than a speech for Xi to reverse the downward slide in US-China ties.
The fragility of the relationship was underscored by US President Joe Biden’s impromptu remark to reporters calling Xi a “dictator” — a word that stole the headlines and generated concern the atmosphere could sour yet again.
But for now, at least, Xi is back to playing peacemaker. — Daniel Ten Kate