Beijing.- China’s top leader Xi Jinping rolled out the red carpet for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, praising him as “an old friend of the Chinese people.” He has had tea in a garden with President Emmanuel Macron of France, regaling him with a performance of an ancient Chinese zither. And he spoke by phone with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, and offered him well wishes for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
But even as Xi has offered a kind hand to those and other world leaders in recent weeks, he has given the United States only a cold nod. China has rejected attempts by the Biden administration to restart high-level talks and de-escalate tensions over Taiwan. And the Xi government has intensified a campaign of ridicule and criticism of the United States and Western democracy.
Taken together, the efforts to bolster ties with American allies while publicly discrediting the United States reflect Beijing’s increasingly tough stance as relations sink to their lowest point in decades, from what Xi has described as the “containment, encirclement and repression of China” by Washington.
The two-pronged approach, say some analysts, is compelling evidence that Xi has fully committed to the view that the China-US compromise is fruitless, at least for now. And he has given urgency to concerns that the two powers are on a collision course that could lead to dangerous accidents, or even war, over Taiwan and other geopolitical hotspots.
Xi’s diplomatic effort was rebuffed by the United States and some of his closest allies this week, when a meeting of top G7 diplomats met in Japan and vowed to jointly address China’s growing assertiveness.
