Shannon Tiezzi — NSA Susan Rice in China: Rethinking ‘New Type Great Power Relations’

In the meeting between Rice and President Xi, reiterated his vision of a “new model of major country relations”: no conflict or confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation. Such a relationship is a “skyscraper,” Xi said, one that must be built up slowly once a foundation of “strategic trust” has been laid. The key to “strategic trust” is deeper mutual understanding and respect for each other’s “core interests.” In a briefing on Rice’s visit, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying emphasized that this “new type of relationship” must begin in the Asia-Pacific region, where U.S.-Chinese interests are most entangled and the two countries interact most frequently. 

On the surface, there’s nothing objectionable here. But as with much diplomatic speak, supposedly benign phrases can be fraught with meaning — and with potential land mines. For one thing, China’s condition of “mutual respect” translates in practice to a demand for increased U.S. respect for China. Beijing believes it has already done enough to show its respect for the U.S.; it’s the other side of the equation that’s missing. Second, Beijing’s emphasis on respect for its “core interests” implicitly demands altered U.S. positions on regional issues, including Taiwan (where arms sales are seen a major affront to China’s “core interest” in reunification) and the South China Sea (where China’s “indisputable sovereignty” is occasionally defined as a core interest). Finally, China’s particular focus on the Asia-Pacific region sends the message that this “new model of major country relations” implicitly involves U.S. respect for a Chinese sphere of interest in the region — something Washington is not ready to accept.

The Obama administration has apparently decided that the Chinese definition of “new type major country relations” would require too many concessions from Washington. The Obama administration has an alternative definition, with an emphasis on “common interests” (read: U.S. interests where it seeks Chinese cooperation) rather than China’s “core interests.” As Evan Medeiros, the senior director for Asian affairs on the National Security Council, put it in an April interview with The Asahi Shimbun, “We have a clear idea of what the new model [of relationship] is about and what it is not.” Apparently, in an attempt to clearly differentiate its definition from China’s, the Obama administration has stopped using the term altogether.

The Diplomat
NSA Susan Rice in China: Rethinking ‘New Type Great Power Relations’ Shannon Tiezzi