By Tu Haiming

On Nov 16, President Xi Jinping met with President of the United States Joe Biden in Lima, Peru, on the sidelines of the 31st APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. During their meeting, Xi outlined China’s seven major principles regarding its national interests, one of which set out the red lines that Beijing won’t allow to be challenged.

The unambiguous message delivered on such a significant occasion underscored Beijing’s seriousness with its red lines on national interests and its determination to uphold them at any cost.

Over recent years, the US and its allies, in rolling out their geopolitical strategy against China, have attempted to breach these red lines, while paying lip service to “building guardrails” to fend off conflict.

It is hoped that Xi’s new message will help Washington politicians and their peers in a few other Western countries to recognize the new reality and abandon their illusion of suppressing China.

China is no longer the poor and weak country it used to be decades ago, whereas the US is not the US in its prime, and the unipolar world is a thing of the past. With the rich legacies of 5,000 years of civilization, a social system different from that of the US and growing national strength, China can never subordinate itself to the US. Washington’s strategies for the United Kingdom, the former Soviet Union and Japan won’t work on China.

It is conceivable that Xi’s new messages on Beijing’s red lines and other aspects of Sino-US relations were intended for both the Biden administration and the upcoming Donald Trump administration.

Xi emphasized that “contradictions and differences between two major countries like China and the US are unavoidable. But one side should not undermine the core interests of the other, let alone seek conflict or confrontation. The one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques are the political foundation of China-US relations. They must be observed. The Taiwan question, democracy and human rights, China’s path and system, and China’s development right are four red lines for China. They must not be challenged. These are the most important guardrails and safety nets for China-US relations.”

In the past four years, the Biden administration has repeatedly mentioned the need to “manage differences” and “set up guardrails for Sino-US relations”. The key to realizing this goal is not to harm each other’s core interests. Washington, however, has repeatedly attempted to breach Beijing’s red lines. As a result, bilateral relations have been on a rocky road.

The red lines emphasized by Xi are legitimate, and underpinned by solid legal basis and historical facts.

Washington needs to come to its senses and realize that many of the thorny global issues, especially those pertaining to the future of mankind, are too intricate to resolve without Sino-US cooperation. Whereas Sino-US cooperation can ensure win-win or multiple wins, confrontation between the two countries is detrimental to the interests of all parties

First, the Taiwan question. Taiwan has been part of China since ancient times, and the current cross-Strait impasse is merely a continuation of a civil war. People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the same race and use the same Chinese language; there is no historical, legal or moral basis for “Taiwan independence”, let alone that it goes against the wishes of 1.4 billion Chinese people. The US is not in a position to intervene in China’s unification process.

Second, democracy and human rights. Throughout the history of human civilization, nations have invented, or adopted, different versions of democracy. Western democracy is far from a perfect exemplar in the modern world; there is no reason to impose it on other countries. China is practicing whole-process people’s democracy and has established an institutional framework to protect civil rights. The US should not measure China’s governance model and civil rights against its own templates, nor should it use the differences between the countries as an excuse to interfere in China’s internal affairs.

Third, China’s development path and governance system. Xi figuratively said: No one knows the fitness of a pair of shoes better than its owner. Indeed, the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics that China is leading is a choice that conforms with the country’s historical legacies, people’s aspirations, and needs of socioeconomic development. The US and its allies simply do not have a say on China’s choice of development path and governance model.

Fourth, China, like all other countries, is entitled to development. The competition among countries is like a running race, and the only way to stay ahead is to run faster instead of setting up barriers for the slow starters. Over the years, the US has doubled down on its efforts to suppress, blockade, and disparage China. The so-called “decoupling”, “de-risking”, and “overcapacity” are examples of politicizing economic issues that run counter to sound judgment and objectivity.

Washington needs to come to its senses and realize that many of the thorny global issues, especially those pertaining to the future of mankind, are too intricate to resolve without Sino-US cooperation. Whereas Sino-US cooperation can ensure win-win or multiple wins, confrontation between the two countries is detrimental to the interests of all parties.

The author is vice-chairman of the Committee on Liaison with Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas Chinese of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and chairman of the Hong Kong New Era Development Thinktank.

The author is a Hong Kong member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and chairman of the Hong Kong New Era Development Thinktank.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of Bauhinia Magazine.