Opinion

US-China relations: Washington’s increased confidence bodes well for avoiding war

US success in expanding the breadth of talks with China, despite Beijing’s reluctance, appears to have inspired a new-found belief in Washington

Greater optimism is good news for those hoping the two powers can find a way to compete without resorting to devastating conflict

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Terry Su is president of Lulu Derivation Data Ltd, a Hong Kong-based online publishing house and think tank specialising in geopolitics.

Published: 12:30am, 29 Jul 2023Updated: 1:00am, 29 Jul 2023

July has been a busy month for diplomacy between the United States and China, with trips to Beijing by former US Federal Reserve chair and current Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, as well as US climate ambassador and former secretary of state John Kerry. Also among the visitors was Henry Kissinger, the former secretary of state and national security adviser who helped initiate rapprochement between Washington and Beijing with his secret trip to China.

All these visits came after Secretary of State Antony Blinken made his first trip to China last month, a visit I called a triumph for the US. Washington seemed to overcome Beijing’s resistance to holding further talks and did so without having to give ground on its stance towards China.

As a result, US-China relations are moving towards a “new normal”. CNBC described Yellen’s trip as setting “a new normal for the US-China relationship”. In its coverage of her visit, The New York Times used the headline “China and the US, still adversaries, are talking. That’s a start.”