In a nearly 4,000-character article in the Communist Party mouthpiece, People’s Daily, on September 7, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng called upon the US for a security dialogue to prevent strategic misjudgments between the countries, as well as exchanges between their think tanks and media. He said “We should restore and restart dialogue mechanisms at all levels and across all areas to bring our problems to the negotiating table”. “Through the establishment of various mechanisms, we can effectively manage risks to ensure China-US relations do not get out of control and become derailed.” In his article Le Yucheng said “There is a small group of politicians in the US who, for personal gain, are distorting history, rejecting history and spreading various fallacies to slander China, pushing China-US relations into dangerous territory”. “The so-called theory of failed engagement with China is bringing back a cold war mentality, rejecting the course of China-US history, and rejecting the achievements in our relationship over the last 40 years.” While not directly addressing sources of friction between the countries, Le Yucheng made clear there was “no room for compromise” on territorial sovereignty issues relating to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang, adding that current tensions were “entirely provoked by the US”. He said “Some politicians in the US have even viciously attacked the Communist Party, drawing the distinction between China and the US as a contradiction between ‘freedom’ and ‘authoritarianism’, and advocating a free democratic alliance to counter China”. “China will definitely not accept bullying or oppression, and will not swallow any bitter fruit that harms our national sovereignty, security or developmental interests.”
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