Speaking to Chinese diplomats and academics at an annual seminar hosted by the China Institute of
International Studies at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on December 21, Cui Tiankai, the China's
longest-serving Ambassador to the United States, warned against any “carelessness, slackness and
incompetence” in China’s dealing with the US. He said, “Every bit of the people’s interest is hard-earned
and we must not allow anyone to plunder it or make it suffer through our own carelessness, slackness and
incompetence.” Cui Tiankai added that tensions between the two powers continue to grow despite last
month’s first virtual summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US counterpart Joe Biden, during
which they agreed to try to avoid conflict. He said Sino-US relations were unlikely to improve in the near
future. Cui Tiankai also said “The current stage of history in US-China relations will continue for quite some time, and the US will not willingly accept the rise of a power with a very different social system, ideology,
cultural traditions and even ethnicity," adding that there had been “a very strong element of racism” in
Washington’s China policy. Cui Tiankai asserted “The US will inevitably try every possible means and spare
no effort, even without a bottom line, to suppress, contain, divide and besiege China.” At the same event,
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China welcomed mutually beneficial cooperation and healthy
competition with the US but was not afraid of confrontation. Outlining China’s diplomacy priorities for the
next year, Wang Yi said the two countries should work together to improve their relations in 2022, which
marks 50 years since former US president Richard Nixon’s historic visit to Beijing that paved the way for
normalising relations between China and the US in 1979.
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