Shi Yinhong is a professor of international relations at China’s Renmin University who holds academic and research positions at several prestigious institutions, including the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He served as a state councillor from 2011 to 2021 and is an expert in the foreign policies and strategies of China and the US, as well as East Asian security. This interview was first published in SCMP Plus. For other interviews in the Open Questions series, click here.
Professor, you have been paying close attention to China-US relations for a long time. Many are calling the present era a new cold war, despite the recent establishment of communications channels. What are your thoughts on the overall trend?
I’ve repeatedly emphasised that establishing communication channels between China and the US – no matter how frequent or senior level – is one thing, while producing tangible results is another.
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Since the 2013 summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US president Barack Obama at Sunnylands, California, Sino-US interactions have been frequent and have included online and in-person meetings at the highest level.
However, it’s clear that Sino-US relations have consistently deteriorated over the past 11 years. The trend has definitely gone down, again and again. This fully demonstrates that establishing communication channels is one thing, while improving relations and resolving major issues is another.
Moreover, if both sides engage in too many talks and are too candid with each other, there may be another scenario: that [both sides] think the other one is not really a good country.
Their thoughts may become clearer than if they had not held these talks, which also proves that talks themselves, communication itself, and exchanges themselves, are distinct from the results they produce.
