Message from Beijing

It is high time US, China cobble together a broader understanding and work for the collective good of their allies

China has reached out to the US with an olive branch. Its offer for a dialogue on all contentious issues has come at an opportune moment. The Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore had already seen a lot of divisive approach from high-profile security umbrella-bearing states and, thus, Beijing’s softening of tone is a welcome development. Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu informed leaders at the Asia’s top security summit on Sunday that there is no room for a conflict with the US, as it is tantamount to an ‘unbearable disaster’. This reiteration from the economic superpower must be a source of consolation to Washington, which finds itself at odds while furthering its doctrine of estrangement with Beijing. Shangfu has surprised many by opting for a route of reconciliation at a time when bloc politics is pitching the world at large in a renewed Cold War.

Beijing, nonetheless, borrowed a leaf from Machiavellian to warn its adversaries that it too is quite capable of fomenting military alliances in the region and beyond, but does not feel like subscribing to it. It was news for the delegates at the Singapore moot to hear such a stunning but mild orientation from China, as it discreetly hinted at AUKUS and QUAD bustling in the region, which consists of extra-territorial member states such as Britain and the US. This possible tit-for-tat alarm from an otherwise soft-spoken China must be heard loud and clear in capitals that are bent on encircling the Red Dragon in its own zone of influence i.e. South China Sea and the Straits of Taiwan. Shangfu, nonetheless, was realistic to the core as he admitted that the world is “big enough for China and the US to grow together”, pointing out at agreeing to disagree in world affairs with an apt denominator of cooperation.

It is high time for the US and China to cobble together a broader understanding and work for the collective good of their respective allies. This is what Shangfu unequivocally made the superpower understand, as seeking common ground for common interests to grow bilateral ties and deepen cooperation is inevitable.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2023.

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