Last week, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US National Security Advisor Jack Sullivan held two days of talks at a five-star hotel in Bangkok.
The outcome of their in-depth exchanges, which lasted nearly 12 hours, succeeded in further reducing the longstanding tension between the world’s two great rivalries.
This trend will continue as both sides have agreed to maintain communication at the highest level. That is to say, Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden will call one another and talk on the phone soon.
Without the leaders constantly staying in touch and talking, misinformation and misunderstanding could proliferate further, causing serious harm to their friendship and cooperation.
It has taken quite a few years for Beijing and Washington to adjust their diplomatic wavelengths to stabilize their relations as the world witnessed last week.
The meeting in San Francisco last November laid the foundation for further dialogue between the two superpowers. The timing was perfect as China and the US found each other wanting, so the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation served as an ideal place to fulfill their objectives.
One caveat is in order here: As this is an electoral year in the US, the condition of China-US relations could well be politicized to boost or turn away prospective voters.
This time around, due in part to the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war, China’s rising power and its global influence have been the subject of presidential debates and election campaigns.
In Bangkok, Wang Yi and Sullivan discussed a myriad of regional and international issues that impact global security and the economy.
Top of the agenda was the situation in the Taiwan Strait, the sea-lane communications in the Red Sea, the Myanmar quagmire, North Korea’s continued missile tests, the Hamas-Israeli war, narcotics, and cooperation on artificial intelligence.
Wang told Sullivan that the election outcome did not change the fact that Taiwan is part of China and added that the biggest risk to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is Taiwan’s independence.
In response, Sullivan reiterated that the US remains committed to its one-China policy and does not support the independence of Taiwan.
With such assurances, both sides can look beyond the headline news to issues related to human security such as efforts to quell the exports of ingredients for fentanyl.
One interesting topic discussed was the risk posed by advanced forms of artificial intelligence (AI), which China and the US have agreed to jointly tackle.
Additional confidence-building is necessary if China and the US are to move forward in carrying out concrete joint actions on AI.
The US has been trying to block China from importing necessary components such as semiconductors through de-risking policies either to slow down or halt the progress of the hi-tech sector.
No official details were reported on the Myanmar crisis. However, since the main theme of the two-day talks was the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the world, one Asean diplomat speculated that both China and the US continue to support the ongoing Asean efforts to bring peace and normalcy to Myanmar. “After the Indochina War, no country wants to see a large-scale war happening in mainland Southeast Asia,” he noted.
Both Wang and Sullivan also held separate bilateral meetings with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahindhra-Nukara.
In the case of China, he and Wang also co-chaired the First Meeting of the Consultation Mechanism between the two foreign ministers. Aside from the bilateral issues, the two discussed plans to jointly celebrate the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations.
There will be activities held in China and Thailand with participation from all sectors, including the public.
Beginning March 1, the two countries will begin a mutual visa exemption to boost people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. During the talks with Sullivan, Parnpree reiterated Thailand’s commitment to the longstanding treaty alliance with the US.
They also touched on ways to further enhance partnership ranking from the defense and security cooperation, cyber and emerging technologies, clean energy transition, among others.
On the Myanmar crisis, both leaders recognized that a peaceful, stable and unified Myanmar is pivotal for regional peace and stability. To further strengthen the strategic alliance, Thailand will host the Thai-US Strategic and Defense Dialogue in February.
All in all, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the improvement of China-US ties.
Thailand cherishes the utilization of its capital as a venue for face-to-face talks among great powers, playing a bridging role in reducing the China-US tension. Furthermore, Bangkok is centrally located at the heart of
Southeast Asia and easily accessed from the East and the West.
By Kavi Chongkittavorn
