Chinese Communist Party’s diplomatic arm in ‘candid and constructive’ meeting with US think tank Asia Society

They discussed ways to improve communication and cooperation, and to manage conflicts and differences, according to state media
China has stepped up backchannel efforts with the United States amid signs of a thaw in bilateral relations

US-China relations

Jane Caiin Beijing

Published: 5:09pm, 20 Oct 2023

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The Communist Party’s diplomatic arm held an online meeting with American think tank the Asia Society on Thursday, as more Chinese agencies reach out to US groups amid signs of a thaw in bilateral ties.

The party’s International Liaison Department had a “candid and constructive” exchange of views during the “Track 1.5 dialogue” with the New York-based organisation, state news agency Xinhua reported on Friday.

Their exchange covered ways to improve communication and cooperation, and to manage conflicts and differences, Xinhua said, without elaborating.

Liu Jianchao, head of the International Liaison Department. Photo: VCG via Getty Images

The liaison department, with a focus on inter-party diplomacy, usually plays a central role in China’s dealings with North Korea.

But it is also taking more of a role in China’s relations with the US. Its head, Liu Jianchao, met US envoy Nicholas Burns in April – the highest-ranking Beijing official to meet a Washington representative in months. Top-level communications had been largely frozen since the US shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon in February.

Track 1 diplomacy takes place between government officials, but diplomats looking to address difficult policy challenges are increasingly incorporating what is known as Track 1.5 and Track 2 dialogue – or backchannel diplomacy – into their strategies. Track 1.5 dialogue involves both government officials and non-government experts, while Track 2 discussions bring together unofficial representatives on both sides, with no government participation.

In another Track 1.5 dialogue, Yang Wanming, president of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, met Robert Hertzberg, former majority leader of the California State Senate, on Tuesday. Hertzberg was in Beijing for this week’s belt and road forum.

The semi-official Chinese association aims to expand friendly exchanges between China and other countries.

Yang and Hertzberg agreed that a “long-term and strategic view” was needed on US-China ties, and that more cooperation at the local level and people-to-people exchanges would help get relations “back on the right path of healthy and stable development”, according to Xinhua.

As tensions ran high in April, Liu Jianchao from the party’s liaison department met Nicholas Burns, the US ambassador to China, in Beijing. Photo: Handout

The backchannel talks come as Washington is seeking to repair ties with Beijing, and ahead of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in San Francisco next month that could see a meeting between the US and Chinese presidents.

If Joe Biden and Xi Jinping do hold a summit in November, analysts say it is unlikely to arrest the decline in bilateral ties. The two powers are at loggerheads over issues ranging from trade and technology to the South China Sea and Taiwan.

The latest move came on Tuesday when the US released new rules to reinforce export controls on semiconductor technology to China. In response, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the US “needs to stop politicising and weaponising trade and tech issues and stop destabilising global industrial and supply chains”.

But in backchannels China has stepped up efforts to improve ties with the US. Earlier this month a group of Chinese academics – led by Yu Tiejun of Peking University – visited Washington on an eight-day trip. It included a three-day conference hosted by US think tank the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, where they discussed reviving academic exchanges.

They also spoke about the bilateral relationship with Daniel Kritenbrink, US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, and Sarah Beran, National Security Council senior director for China and Taiwan affairs, according to a WeChat post by Peking University.

It quoted Chinese envoy to the US Xie Feng as saying that “finding the right way for China and the US to coexist in this new era also requires deep participation and insights from think tanks and scholars from both countries”.