American and Chinese flags on the table before the conference.
Jason Lee | AFP | Getty Images
BEIJING — Politically important U.S.-China relations are susceptible to cultural differences, such as why phone calls go down.
After the US shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon this month, the Chinese Defense Ministry Decline the call to the person in the United States, According to statements from both sides.
This is not the first time China has not answered a call — A hotline set up for emergencies.
The reason is Chinese culture, said Shen Yamei, deputy director and associate research fellow of the American Studies Division at the China Institute of International Affairs, a state-run think tank.
She said she was unaware of what really happened between the United States and China regarding the rejected calls. I was worried.
“We believe that so-called conflict management or crisis management measures [has] It might be even more encouraging if what you were so enthusiastic about setting up is actually implemented [reckless] And it’s a careless, brazen and bold move on the part of the United States,” Shen said.
“We want to stabilize China-US relations,” he said. “If the U.S. is always talking about worst-case scenarios, hotlines and crisis management, it is putting U.S.-China relations at a very low bar.”
The default US view is quite different.
However, if one side of the relationship thinks there is a misunderstanding or problem, a marriage counselor will tell you that the other side should at least ask why.
Barbara K. Bodine
Director of Diplomatic Research Institute
“We have a hotline because if anything gets difficult or tense, or at least there’s the potential for a big misunderstanding, which can lead to a big miscalculation. Talk to each other right away.” Ambassador and Director of the Diplomacy Institute at Georgetown University.
“I may not call it a hotline, but if something happens in Ottawa, I call and ask, ‘Excuse me, what was that?'” she said. “That’s the basis of diplomacy.”
Spy balloons and weather trackers
China and the US have different explanations for why the balloon was flying over the US
Beijing claims it was a “civilian unmanned airship” for weather research and was simply blown off course. ” said.
The incident was widely covered by the US media and forced Secretary of State Anthony Brinken to postpone a trip to Beijing.
Scott Kennedy, senior adviser to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., and chairman of the China Business Economics Division, said the impact made enabling the hotline “absolutely important to bilateral relations.” “It is said that it is.
The next step is to “have a more in-depth dialogue about how we see the other side, what redlining is, what we want out of the relationship, what is achievable and practical.” , is to build upon it.”
Officially, China’s defense ministry said it turned down calls about balloons because the US decided to shoot them down. “We couldn’t create the right atmosphere For dialogue and exchange between the two armies. “
The Pentagon said it remained open to communication and did not seek confrontation.
But that Spokesperson said ‘responsible state’ Send an alert if a private balloon is about to enter the airspace of a sovereign nation. “China didn’t do that,” he said, referring to China’s official name. “They didn’t respond until called.”
Beijing’s decisions are influenced by the closed structures of government and the history of the nation, but US expectations of international communication are built into views on relationships in general.
Using the hotline to diffuse potentially dangerous situations means there are situations that need to be diffused, Bodine said. “But if one side of the relationship thinks there is a misunderstanding or problem, a marriage counselor will tell you that the other side should at least hear why.
And if that side says it’s okay, “all your worries and concerns about what’s going on in your personal relationship, your worst-case scenario nightmares, aren’t going to get any better,” she said. “They will get worse.”
upcoming meeting
Shen of the China Institute of International Affairs said both sides were working to manage tensions and it was important that the two sides communicated regularly, even if they did not cooperate on issues such as climate change and international financial stability. pointed out that
Blinken met with Wang Yi of China at a security conference in Munich this month. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will also visit China.
Since the balloon incident, Beijing has published several papers.
One country reiterated its position on the war between Russia and Ukraine, while another said its “Global Security Initiativeclaims to support world peace. US hegemony — Go back to the Monroe Doctrine of 1823.
“It is very important that rhetoric is not dominated by one opinion maker,” says Shen.
The Chinese government has urged the United States to abide by the principles of “mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.”
“Probably most countries want to talk about the good things about their relationship and not necessarily about the differences,” Bodine said. “And I don’t want to be in a relationship where I have nothing but good things to say.”
“Embassies don’t need to exist in each country if they don’t talk about offensive things.”
