CHINA DAILY
China and the United States released the Shanghai Communique on Feb 28, 1972 following US President Richard Nixon’s weekly visit to Beijing in February 1972, which began the normalization of bilateral ties and paved the way for establishing diplomatic relations in 1979. Over the past 50 years, bilateral ties, despite the many ups and downs, have been guided by the Shanghai Communique, and the following two communiques in 1979 and 1982.
The cooperation between the two countries has not only benefited the two peoples, but also contributed to regional and global economic growth, and helped maintain peace and stability. With the global landscape undergoing radical changes in recent times and Sino-US relations facing major challenges, reviewing the history of bilateral ties and weighing the importance of Nixon’s visit to China and the Shanghai Communique are necessary for improving the most important bilateral relationship in the world.
Pragmatic cooperation
despite huge differences
First, Nixon’s visit to China and the signing of the Shanghai Communique paved the way for Sino-US pragmatic cooperation. Bilateral ties are based on common interests, and the convergence of interests is the fundamental force driving Sino-US relations. It is common interests that promote cooperation despite the huge differences between the two sides.
As a Republican politician, Nixon was rabidly anti-communist. Yet he set aside his prejudices to visit China, in order to safeguard the core interests of the US.
Nixon wanted to establish diplomatic ties with China to strengthen the US’ global position, as it was mired in the Vietnam War and seemingly at a disadvantage in the US-Soviet rivalry for hegemony in the late 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s. As for China, it wanted to embrace open diplomacy and effectively cope with the security threat from the Soviet Union. Encouraged by the success of “ping-pong diplomacy” and then US national security adviser Henry Kissinger’s visit to China in 1971, the US and China reached out to each other, which paved the way for Nixon’s visit to China and changed the course of history.
And in the 50 years since then, the history of Sino-US relations has shown that cooperation benefits both sides while confrontation hurts both. For example, the Donald Trump administration exerted extreme pressure on China by launching a trade war in the hope of bringing China to its knees. But he ended up hurting the interests of US consumers and investors.
The lesson the trade war has taught both sides is that they should engage in pragmatic cooperation, find more common grounds, and explore more common interests, instead of being locked in confrontation.
Second, China and the US need to respect each other and handle bilateral relations in line with the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. The US side has not acted in the “spirit of the contract” nor has it honored its commitments. On the contrary, the US is more interested in maintaining its global hegemony, still suffers from Cold War mentality, and continues to interfere in China’s internal affairs including the Taiwan question, the South China Sea disputes, and Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet and other issues.
These blatant interference in China’s internal affairs and attack on its core interests are violations of the commitments it made in the Shanghai Communique. Not to mention they have not contributed to the healthy development of Sino-US relations. Whenever the US interferes in China’s internal affairs, lectures China like a teacher or threatens to impose sanctions, it deals a blow to bilateral relations.
US should obey ‘one-China’ principle
Third, it’s time China and the US found more common grounds while shelving their differences to work together to promote common interests and take measures to improve bilateral ties. When Nixon visited China, the two countries had been locked in a bitter confrontation for more than 22 years, and their positions on many issues were diametrically opposite. Yet they didn’t avoid these contradictions during their talks. The Shanghai Communique is an open and honest document, and explains the respective positions of China and the US on some issues, and deals with the differences head-on. It clearly states: “There are essential differences between China and the United States in their social systems and foreign policies.” Yet the two sides agreed to establish relations on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence without resorting to threat or force.
The concept of seeking common ground while reserving differences is still important for the healthy development of Sino-US relations. With the increase in China’s comprehensive national strength, the structural contradiction between China and the US has become even more prominent, as is reflected in their vastly different social systems, values and traditions. These enormous differences will inevitably lead to different views on many regional and international issues.
