In this current global crisis, China, U.S. should cooperate

A recent article in the People's Daily — the official party and government newspaper — that also appeared in the English-language China Daily states unequivocally what it expects Western countries to do.

Under the headline “Wrong stance on Tibet hinders ties with China,” it asserts that “Western nations should recognize that Tibet is an inalienable part of China and stop intervening if they want to remain on good terms with China.”

“Relations between China and the rest of the world have experienced a historic transition,” it declared. “China's development is now tied to the world's, while the rest of the world also needs greater cooperation with China. It is impossible for any Western country not to interact with China. However, it is impossible for the West to cooperate with China unless it develops an objective and unbiased stance on Tibet.”

From China's perspective, Westerners don't really know what is going on in Tibet, which is why Beijing recently sent a delegation of Tibetan members of the National People's Congress to the United States. These delegates met with congressmen as well as state and city council members in New York.

However, if China really wants to convince the West of the rightness of its actions, it should lift the military lockdown that it has imposed on Tibet and Tibetan-inhabited areas. If people are not allowed to see what the actual situation is, it will be difficult to convince them.

China certainly has a much stronger hand now than 30 years ago, when it embarked on a determined drive for wealth and power.

However, as it acknowledges, the current situation is not one where the West is dependent on China, but where the two are interdependent.

Thus, while the West will need to be circumspect when dealing with the politically sensitive issue of Tibet, China will need to take Western values into consideration when taking actions that may be seen as contrary to universal values, in particular, the way it treats its ethnic minorities and its political dissidents.

During this time of global crisis, it is imperative that China and the United States should cooperate.

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