Dealing with China becoming difficult on climate change, COVID-19 pandemic: Expert

At a time when international partnership is need of the hour on several global issues like climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, dealing with China is becoming increasingly difficult even on issues that fall in the area of cooperation.

In an opinion piece for American digital media company The Hill, Chinese dissident Jianli Yang wrote that the world's two major powers -- the US and China -- should collaborate on containing the pandemic and determining the origins of SARS-CoV-2.

Despite repeated requests and pressure from the US and other countries, China has erected all kinds of barriers to probe into the COVID-19 origins, Yang said.

"Instead, Beijing has responded with wolf warrior diplomacy," he added.

Last month, US President Joe Biden spoke with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and discussed the responsibility of both nations to ensure that "competition" between the two powers does not become "conflict". Both the leaders had agreed to engage on both sets of issues "openly and straightforwardly".

Meanwhile, the Chinese President told his American counterpart that US policy has resulted in "serious difficulties in bilateral relations" and runs counter to fundamental interests of the people in both countries and the common interests of all countries as well.

The writer argued against the complete decoupling of the two largest economies and termed this possibility as "unrealistic". "Even during the past two years of heightened tensions between the US and China, the trade volume between the two hostile nations has remained relatively stable, and has even shown signs of growth."

According to Jianli, it would be detrimental to global welfare if the world's two major powers were unable to collaborate on issues of global concern.

"Even during the peak of the Cold War, the US and the Soviet Union were able to negotiate and work out deals on arms control, most notably the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty," he added.

Stating that the US' cooperation with China is "inevitable", Jianli added that it is risky because China can use it as a way to fend off criticism of its poor human rights record.

"Whether it is climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, the opioid crisis, anti-terrorism, intellectual property protection, or North Korean tensions, the result could be the same. Even the US's overtures for 'cooperation on the rule of law' became an excuse for China to further clamp down on dissidents," he added.

( With inputs from ANI )

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