A Split in Attitudes Toward the U.S.? Xi Confronts While Li Qiang Seeks “Win-Win Cooperation”

Beginning to Betray Xi? Li Qiang’s Weakest Support for Xi at the Two Sessions (AI-Generated Image)

[People News] Xi Jinping’s recent trip to Xinjiang once again confirms that his current status has indeed shifted. This includes the fact that he did not give a speech at the conference, and that Zhang Youxia, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, did not accompany him.

On the day before Xi’s Xinjiang trip—September 22—Turkish Ambassador to China Ünal visited the PRC Ministry of Civil Affairs and met with Vice Minister Hu Haifeng, ranked fourth within the ministry. The ministry’s official website also reported the meeting, saying the two sides discussed exchanges and cooperation in civil affairs as well as establishing a Turkish Chamber of Commerce in China.

In the author’s impression, in the past, it was always full ministers who met with foreign ambassadors to China. Even if the minister was unavailable, it would never fall to the fourth-ranked vice minister. Clearly, Ünal’s meeting with Hu Haifeng was not because of Hu’s official position, but because he is Hu Jintao’s son. This indirectly confirms Xi’s declining position and that many countries, including Turkey, are already aware of it.

Interestingly, during his Xinjiang visit, Xi also delivered a video speech at the UN Climate Ambition Summit on September 24. While Chinese Premier Li Qiang attended the UN General Assembly’s General Debate in New York, Xi, who did not go to New York, sought to make his presence felt at the UN in this secondary way—an awkward arrangement.

Every late September, world leaders gather in New York for the annual UN General Assembly’s General Debate to discuss urgent global issues. Many heads of state participate and use the stage to present their positions and coordinate stances. Thus, the messages delivered here are very significant. For example, U.S. President Trump’s speech clearly articulated Washington’s views on the UN, climate change, the Russia–Ukraine war, and other matters.

In addition to the General Debate, the UN also holds a series of high-level meetings. This year, those included sessions on sustainable development goals, the Palestinian issue and the two-state solution, climate summits, and the launch of a global dialogue on AI governance. Some national leaders attend these, but they clearly carry less weight than the General Debate.

Xi’s participation by video in the climate summit—where more than a hundred leaders spoke—merely served as a way for Beijing to present its stance on climate governance, without causing much stir. Compared with Premier Li Qiang, who represented Beijing in laying out China’s broader diplomatic policies, Xi’s role was clearly less important.

As for Xi’s speech, it was aimed squarely against Trump. Xi said, “Despite some countries going against the current, the international community should hold the correct course. Developed countries should fulfil their obligations of taking the lead in emissions reduction and provide more funding and technology support to developing countries.”

On September 23, Trump blasted the “green energy scam” in his UN speech, implicitly criticising Beijing. He stated that energy was another field in which America was booming: “We are phasing out so-called renewable energy, wrongly named as such. If you don’t break free from the green energy scam, your country will fail. If you don’t stop people you’ve never met, who share nothing in common with you, your country will fail. The main effect of these cruel green energy policies is not to improve the environment but to shift manufacturing and industry from developed countries that follow these crazy rules to polluting countries that break them.”

Clearly, the Trump administration has long seen through the false narratives of Beijing and Western leftist governments. Beyond exposing them loudly, it has taken concrete actions. After Trump’s speech, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the cancellation of $13 billion in green energy subsidies, with the Treasury reallocating the funds to areas most needed domestically.

While Xi was “acting” on Beijing’s behalf, Li Qiang in New York was busy sending signals of goodwill toward Washington.

On September 21, before heading to New York, Li met with a visiting U.S. congressional delegation led by Congressman Chris Smith. Li once again repeated Beijing’s standard lines: “China is willing to work with the U.S. on mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation. We hope the U.S. will move in the same direction, pushing bilateral relations forward along the correct track, benefiting both countries and the world.” He added: “China and the U.S. should be partners in development, treat each other sincerely, empower one another, and achieve mutual success. China is willing to resolve concerns through communication based on equality, respect, and reciprocity.”

After arriving in New York, Li first met with China’s old friend, Bill Gates, chairman of the Gates Foundation, and then held talks with “U.S.-friendly groups.” These included the U.S.-China Business Council, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Council on Foreign Relations, as well as scholars and business leaders. Well-known attendees included Obama’s former national security adviser and BlackRock Investment Institute chairman Thomas Donilon, Citadel Securities CEO Peng Zhao, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, and Las Vegas Sands chairman Robert Goldstein.

In these meetings, Li repeated his remarks from Beijing and specifically mentioned Sino-U.S. trade, saying: “No matter how the external environment changes, China will do its utmost to provide more certainty for foreign enterprises’ development,” and promised to “actively respond to the concerns of foreign enterprises, help solve practical problems, and ensure foreign businesses can operate and grow with confidence in China.” But will Americans still believe him?

After these promises, Li also put forward a request: he hoped that people across U.S. sectors would actively help “promote mutual understanding between the two countries and expand pragmatic cooperation in various fields.” In short, Beijing hopes these pro-China figures will help the CCP weather its difficulties in U.S.-China relations.

On September 26, Li’s speech at the UN General Assembly echoed these same themes. The message he conveyed to the Trump administration was that Beijing would make certain concessions but hoped Washington would stop pressuring China and show “respect.”

Yet such lies have been repeated by the CCP for decades. The fangs hidden behind Beijing’s sweet rhetoric have already inflicted all-around damage on American society, and the U.S. has now fully recognised it. From Washington’s perspective, if America continues to embrace the CCP, its democracy will face destruction. This is why today, across the political spectrum, the U.S. views the CCP as its top enemy.

As of the evening of September 26, there was no report of Li meeting publicly with senior U.S. officials. His diplomatic activities were limited to pro-CCP figures with relatively little influence on the Trump administration. Whether Li privately contacted Trump officials or discussed Beijing’s internal changes cannot be ruled out, but regardless of who sits at the top in Beijing, as long as the CCP refuses to fundamentally change course and adapt to the tide of history, U.S. policy to contain Beijing will not undergo any essential change.

(Excerpted from Dajiyuan)