Pompeo's Appearance Itself... "Hawaii Summit Unlikely to Play a Major Role in US-China Resolution"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Sunmi Park] Ahead of the high-level confidential US-China talks scheduled to be held in Hawaii on the 17th (local time), there are forecasts that it will be difficult to achieve a substantial breakthrough in improving bilateral relations.

According to the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 17th, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China responsible for foreign affairs, are scheduled to hold face-to-face negotiations in Hawaii on the same day. The last direct face-to-face meeting between high-level officials of the two countries was effectively when US President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He met at the White House in mid-January to sign the Phase One trade agreement.

This negotiation is taking place amid the worst deterioration in US-China relations over various issues such as trade, Hong Kong, the South China Sea, and COVID-19. Neither side has disclosed why the Hawaii talks are being held urgently while both the US and China are struggling to respond to the spread of COVID-19. It is also known that not only Secretary Pompeo but Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun will remain in Hawaii, increasing the likelihood that North Korea issues will be raised during this confidential meeting. North Korea blew up the inter-Korean joint liaison office at around 2:50 p.m. the previous day.

However, among experts, there is a strong skeptical voice about whether this high-level US-China meeting can provide a clear breakthrough in the conflict-ridden bilateral relations.

Gal Luft, co-director of the Institute for the Study of Global Security, a Washington-based think tank, said, "Considering Secretary Pompeo’s recent words and actions toward China, he is not the best messenger to lead reconciliation between the two countries," adding, "The likelihood of substantial results for reconciliation between the two countries from this meeting is slim. At best, it will only prevent the situation from worsening ahead of the US elections in November."

Professor Su Inhong of the Department of International Relations at Renmin University in Beijing also said, "If President Trump truly wants to restore US-China relations, he should not send Secretary Pompeo." George Magnus, a researcher at the China Centre of Oxford University, said, "This meeting will be superficial," adding, "It will be at the level of continuing dialogue to prevent further deterioration of relations."

SCMP reminded that Secretary Pompeo repeatedly referred to COVID-19 as the "Wuhan virus," provoking China, and did not hesitate to criticize China’s political system and leaders.

Some experts argue that despite the lack of a clear breakthrough, the need for this meeting was stronger on the Chinese side than on the US side. Senior researcher Denny Roy of the East-West Center at the University of Hawaii said, "China probably needed this meeting more than the US," adding, "China is experiencing an economic slowdown and sought a small breakthrough in restoring US-China relations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.