Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi surprised commentators on Monday by saying that China might be willing to cooperate on the United States-led Build Back Better World (B3W) initiative. Wang was speaking at a ceremony commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the Shanghai Communiqué, the Nixon-era agreement which normalized U.S.-China relations. Despite much-implied criticism, his speech struck a surprisingly conciliatory tone towards the U.S.
Wang framed the possible cooperation as two major powers working together. In addition to calling for cooperation on vaccines and climate change, he said: “China is open to U.S. Participation in the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative. We are also ready to consider coordinating with the Build Back Better World initiative of the United States to provide more quality public goods for the world.”
The speech struck an unusually friendly tone in the context of the two sides’ frosty relations over the past few years. While it contained pointed reminders that the Shanghai Communiqué committed the U.S. to stop supporting Taiwan’s independence, it also seemed aimed at finding ways to move beyond their current standoff around the Ukraine crisis.
However, it also coincided with China’s State Council releasing a scathing annual report on Human Rights Violations in the United States. The report lists mass shootings, COVID-19 deaths and police brutality in the U.S., and accuses it of being “the biggest obstacle and destroyer of the sound development of the international human rights cause” in foreign countries.
Despite these mixed messages, there are indications that Beijing could be warming to development cooperation with G7 countries. China recently signed an agreement with France to co-finance seven foreign infrastructure projects, of which six will be in Africa.
