It's not a good time to renegotiate Sino-U.S. communique

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Europe

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Today marks the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Joint Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between China and the United States. It is one of the three crucial communiques reached between the two sides. It lays the foundation for bilateral ties while also guiding their development.

Gong Ting, an assistant research fellow in the department for American Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told CGTN that the three communiques are very important as in them the United States acknowledged its commitment to the One-China policy--there is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is part of China.

"The One-China policy is the very political principle foundation for the two countries to establish their diplomatic ties. It is also the foundation for the sound and healthy development for our two countries."

However, since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in 2017, the new U.S. leader's attitudes toward these documents seem to cast a shadow over the future ties between the two countries. Some U.S. officials have been advising the Trump administration to scrap the communique.

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Professor Rick Dunham from Tsinghua University, also Business Week's former White House correspondent, thinks it is not a good time to renegotiate a new communique. In his view, Donald Trump needs to keep talking and figure out where he is and wait for China's response.

"Because if you start getting a negotiation, Donald Trump will put Taiwan on the table".

Given the recent ups-and-downs in bilateral relations, Rick Dunham said as China's economy continues to mature, many people from the U.S. see China as a threat more than a partner. The Sino-U.S. relationship is at a turning point, and a lot will be decided by who is the president of the United States in 2020. But as it stands, Donald Trump will definitely continue putting economic pressure on China.

(If you want to contribute and have special expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)