On contradiction between the US and China

The most important thing to understand is whether the contradiction is within the people or between the people and their enemies. The former can be solved through discussion and debate; the latter can lead to conflict and war.

So said Mao Zedong, the founder and prophet of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), in his famous essay “On Contradiction.” The book has been a cornerstone for Chinese Marxism and the Chinese Communist Party’s way of thinking for decades.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has apparently decided that the issue with the United States lies between the people and their enemy, as evidenced by the solitude of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken upon departing from Beijing last week.

Only the American ambassador in Beijing was with him; no Chinese official accompanied America’s top diplomat to the airport.

“The US wants cooperation with and containment of China simultaneously. How do you expect China to react?” argued Chinese journalist Shen Shiwei on Twitter.

The lack of a red carpet for Blinken’s arrival and his lonely departure was meant to convey Beijing’s displeasure with the US administration, to both the Chinese and American people.

The US believes that even with enemies it is possible to collaborate on some matters and oppose each other on others, as was the case with the USSR during the Cold War. China may think differently, however.

In any case, whether or not Blinken was given the red carpet treatment, the US has decided it is not concerned with such chinoiserie.

Blinken was unfazed. His main objective was to deliver a message as clearly as possible: Beijing should cease its support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, or there will be consequences.

After Blinken’s departure, China welcomed tech