New Chinese ambassador warns of ‘serious difficulties’ in US-China relations

Xie Feng mentioned he goals to reinforce US-China relations at a time of “serious difficulties and challenges”.

“We hope that the United States will work together with China to increase dialogue, to manage differences and also to expand our cooperation so that our relationship will be back to the right track,” Xie mentioned in remarks in English after touchdown in New York City.

Xie Feng’s arrival as the highest envoy for Beijing comes after what has been a tumultuous interval in relations between Washington and Beijing.

In current weeks, nonetheless, there have been indicators that these heated tensions appear to be cooling.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with prime Chinese official Wang Yi in Vienna, and China’s Commerce Minister might meet with prime US commerce and commerce officers within the US within the coming weeks.

President Joe Biden mentioned in Japan final weekend that “everything changed in terms of talking to one another” following the spy balloon incident, however “I think you’re going to see that begin to thaw very shortly”.

Xie mentioned on Tuesday he is trying ahead to “properly handling sensitive and important issues, like the Taiwan question,” in addition to partaking with Americans “from all walks of life”.

He referenced the final time he was working within the US as a diplomat over a decade in the past and mentioned that the world and the US have modified so much.

US officers predict Xie to be a succesful and productive interlocutor based mostly on previous engagements they’ve had with the longtime Chinese diplomat.

“He’s a professional, he’s very capable. We’ve known him for many, many years. I think he’s been working at the MFA for more than 30 years,” mentioned a State Department official.

“And we really know him from his time in Washington. He served multiple tours here, and most recently has been the Vice Foreign Minister overseeing the Americas and other departments as well.”

US officers level to the present second in US-China relations being totally different than when Xie met with Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in the summertime of 2021, when he mentioned the connection had hit a “stalemate and faces serious difficulties”.

At the tip of final yr, Xie met with prime State Department and National Security Council officers who visited China following Biden’s assembly with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 in Bali.

That was certainly one of many engagements Xie has had with Biden officers over the course of the previous few years.

“Things have changed,” the official mentioned of this second in time versus earlier on within the Biden administration.

Since the Sherman assembly – which adopted a tense encounter in Alaska that Blinken and Sullivan had with their Chinese counterparts, there have been “tens of dozens of hours” of calls between the US and China which have included Xie Feng, particularly in preparation for the Biden-Xi assembly in Bali and the deliberate Blinken go to to Beijing earlier this yr.

“We have seen how professional, how clear he is,” the official mentioned.

There was a “longer process” for the final Chinese ambassador to the US to stand up and operating, partially as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.

Officials are hoping that the method for Xie to stand up and operating formally – which requires him to current his credentials to President Biden, which is scheduled by the White House – occurs as shortly as potential.

The State Department has welcomed Xie Feng’s arrival.

“We look forward to working with the ambassador designate and his team,” mentioned State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller at a press briefing.

Miller mentioned that State Department protocol officers will work to get Xie offered with credentials “in accordance with standard State Department practices and diplomatic norms.”

“We remain committed, as we’ve said on a number of occasions, to maintaining channels of communication with the PRC to responsibly manage competition,” Miller mentioned.