Professor Ling-chi Wang of UC Berkeley: This is a more realistic assessment of US-China relations

Video: Cui Tiankai, the former Chinese ambassador to the United States, gave a speech that caused a sensation all over the world! American Silence with comments by Professor Ling-chi Wang of UC Berkeley 前中国驻美大使崔天凯演讲，轰动全世界！全美沉默

Professor Ling-chi Wang of UC Berkeley: This is a more realistic assessment of US-China relations from the former Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Tsui Tiankai. Since 2008, China has been practicing Tai Chi with the U.S., hoping that its calm, patience and willingness to endure heavy blows, including insults, from the U.S. will win over respect and cooperation. This posture is captured well in 28 Chinese words in 7 phrases, by Deng Xiaoping’s famous dictum: “冷静观察、稳住阵脚、沉着应付、韬光养晦、善于藏拙、决不当头、有所作为.” I think his wise advise has served China well. However, as China rises, the U.S. rose, the U.S. saw China as a threat to its global hegemony and a need to abort China’s inevitable growth by political, economic, and military means, a policy started by Obama, reinforced by Trump, and turned into a worldwide full-court press, including military encirclement reinforced by alliances along the periphery of China, by Biden. Suddenly the Deng Xiaoping approach is seen as a weakness of China, vulnerable to U.S. aggression and exploitation. On the surface, the U.S. repeatedly said there has been no change in U.S. relations and policies toward China. But in reality, the U.S. has been systematically dismantling the policy of engagement and cooperation with China since Nixon. Xi Jinping saw through U.S. hypocrisy and duplicity and began to take steps toward defending China’s sovereignty, interests, and relations with countries throughout the world.

I think Ambassador Tsui’s speech and Yang Jiechi’s Alaska lecture to Blinken and Sullivan, are reflections of Xi’s departure from Deng’s 韬光养晦 and the end of China’s 苦肉计。 Those good old days are over. What the U.S. fears most is China becoming the American bully worldwide and start pushing the U.S. around just like we have been doing to the rest of the world without resistance. That fear is. Unfounded and has no evidence to support it. China has no interest in becoming and acting like the U.S. and bullying everyone in its way. That is not China.