Talking Is More Fun than Fighting in the “Fight-Fight, Talk-Talk” Show Between China and the US

Talking Is More Fun than Fighting in the “Fight-Fight, Talk-Talk” Show Between China and the US

China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

June 17, 2020

 Translation of an Excerpt

“Fight-fight, talk-talk” is precisely the usual mode for operations in international diplomacy. There have been constant disputes between the US and China in the past three years, and consultations have not been interrupted. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Yang Jiechi, Office Director of the Foreign Affairs Leadership Group in the CCP Party Central, are about to meet in Hawaii. As the Sino-US strategic confrontation intensifies, the two are willing to talk and should be welcomed by the world.

 It is indeed necessary for China and the US to sit down and talk; after all, the two sides still have many common interests, mutual compromise, even exchange of interests ought to be normal in the art of diplomacy. Even if conflicts related to interests are difficult to resolve, but as long as mutual compromises are reached through consultations, this approach may prevent each party from going to extremes. If China and the US unfortunately become mired in a zero-sum relationship, it will not only harm their respective interests, but also endanger related countries, sharing the same consequences.

At a time when the Sino-US conflict, like a moving snowball, is difficult to halt, we are happy to see the high-levels meet and engage in consultations, seeking to dissolve the momentum on a collision course, and seeking a cohesive force for the two sides to move toward each other. China and the US have fought long enough and hurt each other deeply. Both sides should return to a safe and stable place from the confrontation on the edge of an abyss, and produce something sensible out of the talks. It is common knowledge that although the world is not perfect and mutual relations are difficult to be completely harmonious, unfettered fighting will inevitably make the world's wildfires more intense. Now is the crucial moment for China and the US, as well as the two sides of the Strait, to jointly plan for dividends of cooperation; they should fight to shake off the curse of mutual attacks, restoring the benign mechanism for coordination.

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