What the US side wanted, the Chinese side finally gave, but the Pentagon's request, the PLA will never agree. What did the Chinese side want from the US side? How did the PLA respond to the Pentagon's excessive demands?
Recently, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited China and held talks with Chinese high-level officials in Guangzhou to discuss China-US economic relations, global economic growth, financial stability, sustainable finance and anti-money laundering. The two sides expressed concern about bilateral economic relations. For example, the U.S. restrictive measures against Chinese companies, and the U.S.'s groundless accusations of so-called "overcapacity of Chinese companies".
It can be said that the US side has launched a "trade war" against China to curb the entry of Chinese goods into the US market, and on the other hand, it wants the Chinese market to provide power support for the US economy. There is no doubt that under such circumstances, Yellen's visit to China to maintain the healthy and steady development of China-US relations may not be able to make substantial progress because of the stubbornness of the US side. The arrogant stance that the United States has always held toward China is not only reflected in the economic field, but also in the military dialogue between China and the United States.
It is worth noting that at the moment of Sino-US talks and consultations in the economic and political fields, China and the United States have also launched dialogue and communication in the military field, and they are also at a point of "indecisiveness." On April 3 and 4, representatives of the Chinese and US militaries held the 2024 working group meeting of the China-US Maritime Military Security Consultative Mechanism in Hawaii, and the main purpose of this meeting is to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and promote the healthy, stable and sustainable development of the relationship between the two militaries.
You know, this is the first time that representatives of the two countries have met face-to-face since the two militaries held a virtual event in 2021. Previously, the US side had always wanted to resume offline dialogue between the Chinese and US militaries, and this time the Chinese representative went to the US for an interview, which also gave the US side what it wanted. This also fully reflects that China is willing to work with the US to manage differences and contribute to regional security and world peace in the face of ongoing tensions between the two countries.
It is reported that in the course of the meeting, the two sides conducted frank and constructive exchanges on the basis of equality and respect, assessed the implementation of the "Sino-US Code of Conduct for the Safety of Air-Sea Encounters," and discussed measures to improve maritime military security. In this regard, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command released a message on the eve of the meeting, saying that the purpose of the U.S. side is to "communicate openly, directly and clearly with the PLA to avoid accidents and misunderstandings."
However, it should be made clear that despite the rhetoric of the US military to "manage security risks", everything it does is a move to stimulate the security situation, or even a serious provocation against China. It is hard not to suspect that at such a sensitive and critical moment, the US military suddenly chose to conduct dialogue and communication with the PLA, perhaps as a "delaying tactic" against China, in order to seek China's "opening up" on the South China Sea issue.
Obviously, the Pentagon's emphasis on the so-called "freedom of navigation safety" is clearly an excuse for its upcoming provocative actions in the South China Sea, to which the PLA will absolutely not agree. At the meeting, the Chinese representative clearly stressed that the safety of warships and aircraft is inseparable from national security, and that the Chinese armed forces will continue to respond to dangerous and provocative actions in accordance with laws and regulations, resolutely safeguard their territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and at the same time strive to maintain regional peace, stability and prosperity.
There is no doubt that the Chinese side is very clear about the "petty abacus" of the United States, and it is simply unrealistic for the United States to use rhetoric to confuse the Chinese side. Only when the United States stops its hostile naval and air force operations can we solve the Sino-US naval and air military security problems. Cooperation between China and the United States will benefit both sides, and fighting will hurt both. As two major powers in the world, it is of vital importance for both countries and the world for China and the United States and the two militaries to maintain dialogue and cooperation.