#China-US Relations

[pebblegalaxy]

Chip War Book Review: Unraveling the Global Semiconductor Battle in Chris Miller's Geopolitical Masterpiece #BookishLeague @BohoBibliophile #TBRChallenge #bookchatter @Blogchatter

Hello. This is a comprehensive review of “Chip War” by Chris Miller. I have structured this review to cover various aspects of the book, including its content, historical context, analysis, and impact. Let’s begin:1. Overview and Main Thesis“Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology” by Chris Miller, published in 2022, is a meticulously researched and compellingly written…

[filosofablogger]

Prez Meets Prez

Yesterday, President Biden met with President Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, in San Francisco.  I would like to share with you Robert Hubbell’s take on the meeting and what it says about the ability of our president to be exactly what he needs to be in order to help make the world a safer place for us all … Biden In Command 16 November 2023 Robert B. Hubbell After…

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Hegemonic Washington Reacts to Kissinger’s China Reception with ‘Sour Grapes’ Mentality

— Wang Qi and Xu Yelu | July 21, 2023

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, capital of China, July 20, 2023. Photo:Xinhua

While China gave its "Old Friend" Henry Kissinger a warm and grand reception in Beijing, a positive sign showing its sincerity to engage and stabilize relations, the White House said it "regrets" that the 100-year-old former secretary of state and national security advisor still had better access to Chinese officials than some incumbent US officials.

Although China has expressed expectations of mutual respect and meeting each other halfway to protect the "fragile thawing" in ties, US politicians and media have not stopped smearing and suppressing China, ranging from hyping "Chinese hackers" breaching email accounts of top US diplomats and investigations into US firms' investments in Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor companies to conniving Taiwan secessionist deputy regional leader's possible transit through the US.

Chinese experts said that the US incumbent officials have "sour grapes" mentality over Kissinger's visit to China, and are unable to treat it with an objective and rational attitude. Meanwhile, the US elites' China strategy is not based on the reality that the two sides enjoy a profound foundation of common interests and the general expectations of the international community, but blindly pursues an absolute advantage of strength, with a sense of so-called moral and cultural superiority.

Although analysts expect that under China's efforts, interactions between China and the US are expected to strengthen in the second half of 2023, and even face-to-face exchanges between two heads of state cannot be ruled out, if the US continues to blindly pursue confrontation in its China policy, the atmosphere and conditions for the meeting of the heads of state will disappear.

China US Illustration: Liu Rui

'Sour Grapes' Reaction

In a meeting with Kissinger on Thursday in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed him as an "old friend" whom the Chinese people will never forget for his historic contributions to promoting China-US ties. Xi also expressed hope that Kissinger and other people of foresight in the US will continue to play a constructive role in restoring China-US ties to the right track.

China also prepared a banquet for Kissinger with cuisine and decorations filled with cultural significance. Dishes included a longevity peach cake, crane and pine ornamentation that traditionally symbolizes a long and healthy life for the elderly, as well as decorations of lush mountains and rivers, representing the enduring friendship and conveying hopes for peace and prosperity between China and the US.

In the US, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said Kissinger went to China "under his own volition, not acting on behalf of the US government." White House National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby said, "It's unfortunate that a private citizen can meet with the defense minister and have a communication and the US can't."

The Biden administration "looks forward to hearing from Secretary Kissinger when he returns, to hear what he heard, what he learned, what he saw," Kirby added.

Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times that the White House had "sour grapes" mentality over the high-level reception Kissinger received during his visit to China, but it had to acknowledge his role as an irreplaceable channel for communication at a time of bilateral tensions.

There is a real need for bilateral cooperation in areas such as economy and trade, climate change and combating drugs, Li said, "Rational policymakers and observers should be happy to see the lines of communication open and smooth."

The White House's emphasis of Kissinger's civilian identity shows its abnormal polarization in domestic politics, said Shen Yi, a professor at Fudan University, "They are worried that the Republicans will use this matter for a political attack as the 2024 election approaches."

"The current situation in China-US relations cannot be solved by Henry Kissinger alone. Kissinger's China tour reflects China's positive attitude and sincerity in maintaining China-US relations. This kind of sincerity is not because it fears the US, nor to gain leverage over the US," Shen said, "It's different from some American politicians' confrontational mindset."

The US government should learn from Kissinger's diplomatic acumen, and also exert sufficient political control at home, Diao Daming, an associate professor at the Renmin University of China in Beijing, told the Global Times on Friday.

Confrontation or Communication

As for Kirby's veiled displeasure with the inability to hold a China-US defense chiefs meeting in his comments on Kissinger's meeting with Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu, experts said this is completely caused by Washington's unilaterally wrong and extreme approach toward China, as Li is still under US sanctions.

It is completely hegemonic logic if the US believes that China-US military dialogue can be carried out under such conditions… If the US does not reflect on itself, it won't be conducive to mending bilateral ties, Diao said.

In addition, the US has never stopped undermining bilateral relations.

Citing unnamed sources, the Wall Street Journal smeared China amid Kissinger's China tour, saying that "China-linked hackers" breached the email account of US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, as well as the email account of Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant Secretary of State for East Asia.

Interestingly, Kritenbrink said at a Thursday hearing on China policy, "We are committed to managing this competition responsibly and to maintaining open lines of communication," without mentioning the "China-linked hackers."

Analysts said Kissinger's ideas can still shed light on the current muddled US policy toward China, as he believes that managing international relations requires common ground while reserving differences.

"It would be disastrous if Washington's policymakers' brains are full of ideology and value superiority," Li said.

Earlier on Wednesday, a US House committee launched an investigation into investments by four US venture capital firms into Chinese artificial intelligence and semiconductor companies, according to a Reuters report.

The common interests accumulated between China and the US over the past century are too large to be destroyed by some politicians' will. Therefore, the US' China policy should be based on objective reality, and Kissinger is a unique and living witness to the accumulation of common interests between China and the US over the past 50 years, Li said.

Kissinger, who has visited China more than 100 times, once again illustrated the importance of US-China exchanges at the age of 100.

The more frequent the exchanges between China and the US, the more it will help both sides, especially the US, stay rational and pragmatic in handling relations with China. If there is no communication, rumors will be used as weapons for some extreme US politicians who deliberately undermine China-US relations, Li said.

Chinese experts said that the interaction between China and the US may show a trend of strengthening in the second half of 2023 after Kissinger's visit, and there will likely be face-to-face exchanges between the two heads of state on occasions such as the G20 and APEC summits. However, if the US continues to pursue confrontation and provocation in its China policy, the atmosphere for the meeting of the heads of state will disappear.

For example, attention should be paid to the US' move on the Taiwan question, China's core interest and red line.

Regarding a possible transit visit of Taiwan secessionist Lai Ching-te through the US, Xie Feng, the Chinese Ambassador to the US, said at the Aspen Security Forum on Wednesday, "The Taiwan question is the most important and sensitive matter in China-US relations."

The pressing issue at hand is to resolutely block Lai's transit through the US, which is akin to a "grey rhino" charging toward us, Xie said.

[infonewsmania]

US faces critical years in fighting 'China challenge,' Pentagon chief warns

US faces critical years in fighting ‘China challenge,’ Pentagon chief warns

The US is at a critical juncture with China and will need military power to ensure that American values, not Beijing’s, set global goals in the 21st century, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday. Austin’s speech at the Reagan National Defense Forum capped a week in which the Pentagon was focused on China’s rise and what that might mean for America’s position in the world. by 2035,…

[arospecsyourblockdudes]

i love liushen as much as the next guy but i dont know how theyd ever end up together. liu qingge as a person is not the type of guy to be in touch with his emotions like at all and shen qingqiu just doesnt ever really know whats going on esp when hes being hit on. doomed to be a couple of lesbians constantly going on dates and neither of them know it

[fuckyeahchinesefashion]

chinese guzhuang fashion

[revenge-of-the-shit]

JUST BECAUSE IT'S A MOVIE ABOUT CHINESE-AMERICANS DOESN'T MEAN WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THE PANDEMIC OR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THE MOVIE IS LITERALLY A RAUNCHY SEXY COMEDY

[m4ruk4ts]

since they met in the 70's, i wanted to try and draw how they looked like back then (i know nothing about fashion ;v;-)

for some reason i always end up mixing or forgetting the year their bilateral relations started (1972). maybe its bc i dont like history. Specially when it comes to remembering important dates lol

[ladyimaginarium]

from mikjikj-mnikuk/turtle island to inuit nunangat to kanata to kalaallit nunaat to anahuac to abya yala to alkebulan to the levant to moananuiākea to sápmi to éire to bhārata to zhōngguó to nihon to aynu mosir to siberia to niugini to nusantara to bandaiyan to aotearoa, from coast to coast to coast to coast, from sea to sea to sea to sea, none of us are free until all of us — men, women, enben, children, queer people, disabled & neurodivergent people, elders, animals and the land and the sea and the sky — are free!!!!

[inariedwards]

From the translator's introduction:

What sparked the interview was Germany’s suppression of views that are critical of Israel’s conduct of the ongoing war in Gaza. Artists, journalists, and scholars who did not follow the official line were silenced, threatened, attacked, and even fired. This shocked Xiang Biao, who greatly values intellectual independence and the role of universities and research institutions in protecting that independence. He subsequently began to pay close attention to the student demonstrations protesting Israel’s prosecution of the war, and especially to the aggressively offensive posture of the German government and German universities, although he came to see them as merely an extreme example of a worldwide posture. In the interview with Wu Qi, Xiang attempts to tease out the logic of the demonstrations and the universities’ reactions to the demonstration.

His argument, in a nutshell, is that the backlash against the demonstrations is a product of a larger failure of the postwar liberal global order. However one views the current war, the Palestinian problem has been festering for decades, and the global liberal order has, broadly speaking, sought to solve the problem by supporting Israel as the sole genuine democracy in the region. The point of the student demonstrations is to shine a light on the manifest injustice this “solution” has produced. Governments and universities have shut down the protests so vigorously essentially because their only answer to the Palestinian problem is more of the same and “let’s not talk about it or I’m sending in the police.”

An excerpt from early on in the interview (the whole thing is so good I want to excerpt all of it):

In Eichmann in Jerusalem, Hanna Arendt emphasized that the Holocaust was not just a crime against the Jews, but against all of humanity, and should be understood in this larger existential sense as an example of the “banality of evil” and not reduced to the sins of one race against another. The vast majority of those killed in the Holocaust were Jews, but many Communists, [Roma and Sinti], and homosexuals were killed as well. Members of the Frankfurt School argued that one of the causes of the Holocaust was modernity, in the sense that it applied rationality to the systematic murder of people; indeed, Frankfurt School thinkers were surprised by the extent of antisemitism they discovered while in exile in the United States, where of course no such massacre occurred.

The Holocaust was thus not a necessary consequence of antisemitism. Antisemitism has been a fact of life in Europe since the Middle Ages, a manifestation of racism, but Jews and Christians in Germany have also coexisted for a long time, and the massacre of Jews was not the result of a sudden intensification of the conflict between the two groups, but rather a problem of modernity, including the problems of racial categorizing and the rigidity that that can accompany rationalism, dehumanization, etc.

It goes without saying that we need to seriously reflect on both the murder of Jews and antisemitism, but one does not necessarily lead to the other. After the Cold War, however, the two seemed to become increasingly linked together in Germans’ minds, and the Holocaust became solely a crime against the Jews. In this way, the liberal order has come to manifest itself in Germany as a moral rebuke to the German people and a profound sense of guilt regarding the Jewish people, and not a thorough reflection on the rationality of modernity.

[loboboss57]

Fuck

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“Demented & Braindead Biden” Assesses Impact of Calling President Xi a ‘Dictator’

The US president has shrugged off the possible effects of disparaging his Chinese counterpart

US President Joe Biden appears at a White House welcoming ceremony for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. © Getty Images / Anna Moneymaker

US President Joe Biden has dismissed concerns that his comment this week referring to Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a “dictator” could hinder his administration’s efforts to mend Washington’s strained relationship with Beijing.

Asked about the remark at a White House press conference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, Biden denied that insulting Xi would undermine relations with China. “I expect to be meeting with President Xi sometime in the future, in the near term, and I don’t think it’s had any real consequence,” he said.

At issue was Biden’s comment on Tuesday at a political fundraiser in California, where he claimed that Xi had not known about an alleged spy balloon that was shot down after entering US airspace in February. “That’s a great embarrassment for dictators, when they didn’t know what happened.” The remark came just one day after US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken concluded a long-awaited and rare visit to Beijing, where Washington’s top diplomat met with Xi and sought to ease tensions between the superpowers.

The Chinese embassy in Washington delivered a formal protest on Thursday, just hours before Biden spoke dismissively of the controversy. “With the latest irresponsible remarks about China’s political system and its top leader, people cannot help but question the sincerity of the U.S. side,” the embassy said in a statement. “The Chinese government and people do not accept any political provocation against China’s top leader and will resolutely respond.”

China hits back at Biden over ‘dictator Xi’ comments! The US president’s remarks are “Absurd” and amount to “an open political provocation,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry has said. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning. © AP Photo/Andy Wong

“The US side distorted the facts and abused force, fully reflecting the US’ bullying and hegemonic nature,” she said.

The statement echoed criticism earlier this week by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning, who said Biden’s comment was an “open political provocation” and had “seriously violated China’s political dignity.”

Asked about becoming the first US president in recent memory to call his Chinese counterpart a “dictator,” Biden appeared to suggest that he was merely speaking his mind. “When we’re talking to our allies and partners around the world, including India, we let the idea of my choosing and avoiding saying what I think is the facts . . . is just not something I’m going to change very much.” He added that fears of a collapse in Sino-US relations were “hysteria.”

Beijing cut off military and climate ties with Washington last August, after then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a controversial visit to Taiwan. Blinken’s planned trip to China earlier this year was postponed in the aftermath of the balloon incident. Ning blasted Biden’s decision to shoot down the balloon, saying Washington had “abused force, fully reflecting the US bullying and hegemonic nature.”

Republicans mocked Biden for appearing to read his answer to a reporter’s question about his “dictator” comment. There was also an awkward moment during Thursday’s welcoming ceremony for Modi’s state visit, where Biden slowly lowered his hand from over his heart after apparently mistaking the Indian national anthem for the “Star Spangled Banner” for about 20 seconds.

— Friday June 23, 2023 | RT