China Tries To Repair Blunted Diplomatic Overtures

While some key positions are expected to be finalized at China's annual parliamentary meetings which open this weekend, two senior diplomats have been laying the groundwork for the new term of government since the end of 2022, the South China Morning Post reported.

Photo Insert: Wang is an expert on China’s frustrations as he can’t get any breakthrough in dealing with the Southeast Asian coastal states that assail China’s claim over submerged features of the South China Sea (SCS) and its construction of military and naval bases in those features.

Wang Yi and Qin Gang were appointed on December 30 - as director of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs and foreign minister, respectively - and got straight to work, setting the scene for the government's foreign policy agenda.

Their efforts were meant to set the stage for President Xi Jinping's groundbreaking third term at the "two sessions" meetings of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

It did not turn out exactly as they could have expected just a few weeks ago, when the Chinese balloon saga erupted just as China-US relations seemed to be headed for some improvement after reaching their lowest point in decades.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to China in early February was canceled in the heat of spying accusations against Beijing, followed by weeks of the two powers trading barbs and dashing hopes for a reset in their troubled relations.

But Wang and Qin's work since taking up their new positions has given the world a glimpse of Beijing's priorities, not only in its US ties but also relations with Europe.

In a speech last month to the Munich Security Conference, Wang, 69 - who served as foreign minister for a decade before taking on the role of China's most senior diplomat - reflected on the geopolitical environment that Xi faces in his third term.

Wang is an expert on China’s frustrations as he can’t get any breakthrough in dealing with the Southeast Asian coastal states that assail China’s claim over submerged features of the South China Sea (SCS) and its construction of military and naval bases in those features.

He also failed to cement a security treaty with Pacific island nations, all of which said Wang wanted them to sign an agreement signed, sealed and delivered in Beijing. For these failures, Wang got kicked upstairs, to be kept under Xi Jinping’s close watch in Zhongnanhai, the Chinese Communist Party’s headquarters in Beijing.

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