The US State Department announced that Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will meet with Qin Gang, the new Chinese ambassador to the United States, on Thursday (August 12, 2021) afternoon. This senior Chinese diplomat has continuously shown a friendly attitude to the US in the past two weeks. How he will “repack and set off” in order to repair the relationship between the two countries will become the focus of people’s attention.
The U.S. State Department made the announcement late Wednesday but did not provide more details about the meeting.
Qin Gang arrived in Washington on the 28th last month to perform his duties and then self-quarantined for 14 days. Thursday is the first day after the end of his isolation period.
After arriving in Washington, Qin Gang told the Chinese and American media that the door to Sino-US relations has been opened and will not be closed. He said that as the 11th Chinese ambassador to the United States, he will work hard to build a bridge of communication and cooperation with all walks of life in the United States, and jointly push Sino-US relations back on the right track of development.
Qin Gang opened a Twitter account as the Chinese ambassador to the United States on the day he arrived in Washington, stating that he would be quarantined for 14 days first to show respect for the country’s regulations on the new crown epidemic.
The next day, Qin Gang posted a photo of himself in front of Shanghai Jin Jiang Hotel on Twitter, with a caption: “The birthplace of the Sino-US Joint Communiqué during President Nixon’s visit to China in 1972. Repack and set off”, Yu Zhi He will work hard to restart the deeply troubled relationship between the two countries.
Unlike his fellow Chinese diplomats, Qin Gang frequently used tweets to show his favor to the US during his self-isolation. When the new crown epidemic regained its head in the United States, he said that there were also local cases in China, and said in a deliberate tone, “Is it okay for our two countries to cooperate to solve the problem? For example, (developing) more effective vaccines to help other countries?” He said in another tweet that China and the United States should cooperate in the manufacture of electric vehicles to combat climate change. When the Tokyo Olympics closed, Qin Gang congratulated the U.S. team for winning the most medals. He also praised the U.S. ally, Japan, for successfully hosting the Olympics in the face of the new crown pandemic. On Tuesday, the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, USA sent a tweet to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the establishment of the museum, and Qin Gang responded with a tweet: “Smithsonian Museum, I wish you a happy 175th birthday.”
The 55-year-old Qin Gang twice served as the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and later as the deputy foreign minister. He has accompanied the Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping on many visits and met with foreign dignitaries, showing that he is trusted by Xi Jinping.
Some observers said that Qin continued to show his favor to the United States as soon as he took office. It may be that he was implementing the foreign propaganda directed by Xi Jinping to “strive to create a credible, lovely, and respectable image of China.”
China’s “wolf war diplomacy”, which has been going on for a long time, has brought negative effects on Beijing. Changing back to smile diplomacy and charismatic diplomacy is obviously not enough to resolve the deep-seated conflicts between the United States and China and change the characteristics of competition between the two major powers, but it may help create a constructive consultation for the first meeting between Ambassador Qin Gang and senior U.S. officials Atmosphere.
.