On April 16, Chinese leader Xi Jinping finally appeared in the media and held a video meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, ending eight days of apparent invisibility. The last time Xi Jinping showed up was in a tree-planting event on April 8, but then he disappeared from public view. The headlines in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) media could only cover his whereabouts with his books, articles, instructions, calls, letters etc.
Xi Jinping’s invisibility once again sparked speculation from many sources regarding his health, safety, and party infighting. Even the media softened the tone by publicizing premier Li Keqiang’s remarks on April 13 in a video conversation with the American business community when he said that “decoupling is not good for anyone.”
The Strangeness of the Climate Change Talks
On April 7, Xi had a telephone conversation with Merkel, reported briefly by Xinhua News. Nine days later, Xi once again had video talks with Merkel and Macron.According to this report, Xi Jinping merely repeated his previous promises. Who would really believe what the CCP promised 39 years from now? The Sino-British Joint Declaration also promised that “one country, two systems” would remain unchanged for at least 50 years after 1997. As a result, it became an outdated document by the CCP in 23 years.
Xinhua, on the other hand, reported the meeting in a high profile piece that stated, “the leaders of the three countries had an in-depth exchange of views on cooperation in tackling climate change, Sino-European relations, anti-pandemic cooperation, and major international and regional issues.”
Other than Xi’s usual rhetoric, the focus of the article was probably Xi saying, “We must firmly grasp the general direction and main tone of the development of China-EU relations from a strategic height.”
Accompanied by Yang Jiechi, the CCP’s most senior foreign policy official, and Wang Yi, the CCP’s foreign minister, Xi had his moment to show the world that he is not isolated and he has the capital to compete with the United States.
The U.S. president’s special envoy for climate change, John Kerry, has arrived in China, but when asked if Xi would meet with Kerry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Zhao Lijian referred to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment for the answer.
The CCP has hoped for a dialogue with the United States, and even stated willingness to cooperate on climate action. Now that the American climate envoy has arrived, the CCP has deliberately lowered the standards for his reception, and Xi does not seem to be ready to meet him. The CCP put aside the visiting American climate envoy, but made a climate commitment to the French and German leaders. Is this the way to improve Sino-U.S. relations, or is it “decoupling” itself?
A New Anti-American Propaganda
On April 16, the article “Examples of U.S. Violations of International Rules” was published in a prominent position on the homepage of Xinhua. This long article of more than 5,000 words has five subheadings, namely: Interference in other countries’ internal affairs and infringement of the sovereignty of other countries; trampling on international rules and threatening peace and security; unilateral bullying and sanctions in an attempt to cover the sky single-handedly; pursuing the United States first by abandoning commitments and obligations; notorious for double standards for human rights, brutally trampling on human rights.This article is worthy of the U.S. government’s thorough research to learn how the CCP views the United States.
Another article published by Xinhua, “A sharp comment on the world: Human rights model? Stop the ‘five’ shame!,” mainly in the form of an illustration, lists the “five sins” of the United States, including: colonialism, racism, export unrest, interventionism, and double standards. The article ended by calling the United States to “Stop the shameless ‘five’!”
I wonder how President Joe Biden and his staff would feel about such an article. Now the CCP is not only scolding outgoing Trump administration officials, but the entire U.S. government.
Zhao Lijian, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also quickly returned to his original “wolf warrior” role. Xinhua quoted him at a press conference that day and issued a third report, “Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Japan and the United States must not engage in ’small circles’ against China.” Zhao insisted that the CCP’s “position on Taiwan, Hong Kong, the South China Sea and [the disputed islands] Diaoyu Dao is consistent and clear. ... The United States and Japan should take China’s concerns and demands seriously ... refrain from forming a clique targeting China ... [and] China will make necessary reactions as the situation evolves.”
High-Profile Propaganda Indicates Differences Between US and Russia
Zhao not only directly targeted the United States and Japan again aggressively, but also talked about the latest U.S. sanctions against Russia. Xinhua also reported on the same day: “To wantonly resort to unilateral sanctions or the threat of sanctions in international relations constitute power politics and hegemonic bullying. Such behavior is being rejected more and more by the international community.”Xinhua also published a commentary article, “Where will the United States lead U.S.-Russian relations while talking and suppressing at the same time?” The article quoted analysts as saying: “When the leaders of the two countries talked on the phone a few days ago, the United States also proposed to hold a summit to discuss bilateral relations, but now it is quickly changing faces and brandishing a big stick of sanctions against Russia. In addition, the two sides have obvious differences on many issues. The ossified relationship between the United States and Russia in recent years will only become hopeless, and even worsen in the future.”
The CCP is obviously happy to see the deterioration of U.S.-Russian relations. Hoping to form an alliance with Russia, the CCP is trying to provoke Russia to retaliate against the United States. Russia nominally claims that it is a strategic partner with the CCP, but has always been reluctant to form a military alliance with the CCP. It just wants to push the CCP to the forefront of confronting the United States. Russia has tried its best to avoid direct conflict with the United States.
Now, the CCP seems to see an opportunity. Of course, although the chaos will serve the CCP better, the CCP is at least not isolated. France and Germany will not form an anti-American alliance with the CCP; Russia is also unlikely to form an anti-American alliance with the CCP. The CCP continues its dream by making noises just so that it’s not so lonely.
I only hope the international community can see clearly the ugly and evil nature of the CCP. I also hope to further remind the Chinese people to recognize the shameful acts of the CCP and how the CCP is ruining the reputation of Chinese descendants.
