Yanyang Chu

Opinion | The adversarial thrust of US policy on China makes it hard for Beijing to develop trust

The US seeks cooperation while also reserving the right to compete and confront. But for China, every confrontation diminishes its willingness to collaborate and trust

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Why you can trust SCMP

To Beijing, the shooting down of the balloon was an adversarial move, so any further cooperation was blocked: China requires a certain atmosphere before it can build trust. Photo illustration: Reuters

Yanyang Chu

Published: 1:00am, 10 Mar 2023Updated: 2:33am, 10 Mar 2023

When a US F-22 Raptor shot down a Chinese balloon over America, it possibly blew up the already fragile mutual trust across the Pacific Ocean. In the aftermath, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed his long-awaited visit to Beijing, presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping would do well to remember the day more than 11 years ago when, as vice-heads of state, they agreed to strengthen “strategic mutual trust” between their countries.

Since 1949, trust has been a central topic of US-China relations, having never been fully achieved. Standing in the way is a difference in mindset.

While the Biden administration’s strategy vis-à-vis China is threefold – competition, cooperation and confrontation – Beijing sees all foreign affairs as integral to the diplomatic relationship. A confrontation in one aspect causes collaboration to deteriorate in others.

At the core is sovereignty and territorial integrity. Last September, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi spoke about the “principles of respect” for sovereignty and territorial integrity at the Asia Society, stressing that “without respect, no trust can be built”. For Beijing, any threat to China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity incurs the biggest trust deficit.

Last August, then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, prompting Beijing to accuse Washington of interfering in China’s sovereign affairs. In retaliation, Beijing suspended certain cooperative activities with Washington, including their dialogues on climate change and between their top military officials.

A cancellation of communication happened again at the height of the balloon crisis. On the day the balloon was shot down, China refused America’s request for a secure call between Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart. China’s defence ministry said the US had failed to “create a proper atmosphere” for the conversation.