The trip of the chairman of China’s Central Foreign Affairs Committee to the US took place on Tuesday, while relations between the two countries were dominated by a series of confrontations. On the same day Yang went to New York, the US said China had refused to offer two US warships a visit to Hong Kong after the two countries launched a quarrel over anti-government protests in the administrative district. this.
A brief statement released by Xinhua news agency said Mr. Yang, a member of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo, exchanged views with Pompeo about the relationship between the United States and China without giving further details. detail. The US State Department gave a brief announcement and did not say details about the meeting.
Dinh Lap, professor of American studies at Easter University in Shanghai, said the meeting was an indication that the two sides were looking for ways to prevent confrontations from getting out of control. "Although both countries seem to be expanding their differences, they still understand that they need to control and narrow these differences whenever possible," Mr. Tham told SCMP.
Professor Tham said the situation in Hong Kong could be the main issue of the talks, in addition to the year-round trade war. "On the issue of Hong Kong, China will demand that the US not intervene, while the US requires China to restrain it."
Ngo Tam Ba, director of the American Research Center of Easter University said that trade is less likely to be the focus of the conversation because this field is not the direct responsibility of both Mr. Duong and Mr. Pompeo, but The meeting showed goodwill after disagreements over the issue of Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Taiwan undermined the already strained relations between China and the United States.
"This meeting will not solve the problem, but it shows that the two sides can still talk to each other," Wu said. “Even if President Donald Trump says China can handle Hong Kong and he is not interested in this city, other politicians are still trying to intervene. Mr. Trump can’t control it and won’t stop them. Meanwhile, China is worried about international comments on the crisis in Hong Kong, which lasted for the 10th week with consecutive protests and violence. Many infrastructure systems such as airports and subways are paralyzed for a certain amount of time.
On Tuesday, Mr. Trump said the situation in Hong Kong was complicated. He also cited information from US intelligence that the Chinese government is moving troops near the Hong Kong border. On the same day, national security adviser John Bolton discussed Hong Kong’s situation with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He denied "ridiculous allegations" from China that an American diplomat was behind protests.
US officials said China last Saturday rejected USS Green Bay, a lander, and USS Lake Erie missile cruiser docked in Hong Kong. "The Chinese government has refused to request the US ships to visit Hong Kong," said US Pacific fleet commander Nate Christensen.
Clayton Dube, director of the US-China Institute of the University of Southern California, said the Yang-Pompeo conference focused on Hong Kong, North Korea and Iran.
"It can be guessed that the two sides emphasize the importance of bilateral relations for each country and that they want a healthy relationship," Dube said.
