Beijing quick to scupper high-level military talks
China tries to goad the United States into dropping sanctions as the two superpowers lock horns
Welcome to the seventh edition of Between The Lines. This week we look at how the ruling Communist Party of China is trying to goad Washington into ditching sanctions against Beijing. It is a typical ploy from the Party’s boss of bosses Xi Jinping. Moving on, we look at “patriotism” inside the country and a new brainwashing law. Let’s get started.
China has warned the United States that high-level military talks can only be resumed if Washington lifts sanctions against Beijing.
Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken again called for “open lines of communications” to be restored between the two global superpowers. But the idea was rejected by President Xi. Ten days later, the “reason” has become crystal clear.
“The US side knows the reason for difficulties in its military-to-military relations with China,” Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said at a briefing, according to Bloomberg:
It actually imposed unilateral sanctions on China. Such obstacles should be removed before any exchange and cooperation [can] take place between the two countries.
President Joe Biden’s administration has made a “military” hotline a priority amid rising tension between the world’s two major economies. But Washington will not cave into bullying.
Patriotism and those Party scoundrels
Patriotism might be the “last refuge of” a “scoundrel,” but not to the Communist Party’s Xicophants. Even as the economy tanks, the mandarins stalking the Great Hall of the People are stoking the furnace of nationalism. Politico set the scene perfectly:
China’s rubberstamp parliament is to introduce a new law regulating patriotism across the country after a draft act was submitted to the National People’s Congress, according to state media Xinhua.
“Patriotic education covers areas such as ideology and politics, history and culture, national symbols, the beauty of the motherland, national unity, national security, and defense,” Xinhua, the official mouthpiece of the CCP, said.
From the classroom to the boardroom, “all citizens will undertake patriotic education” as Comrade Xi continues to tighten the Party’s grip on power.
China rolls out foreign relations law
It was only a matter of time. On Wednesday, China rolled out a “sweeping foreign relations law” amid strained diplomatic ties with the United States and its allies.
The move is seen in Beijing as a way to counter Washington’s efforts to suppress the “country’s development.” CNN reported:
The two countries have entered a period of deep suspicion and tension that marks a low point in their relations, even as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing in an effort to stabilize ties.
“The new law stresses [China’s] right ‘to take corresponding countermeasures’ against acts that violate international law and norms and that ‘endanger China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests,’ according to a copy of the text published by state media.”
Beijing has again upped the ante and destroyed any hope of repairing Sino-American relations.