The spirit of the San Francisco meeting in November 2023, when Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden agreed to resume human-to-human exchanges between the two superpowers, is already far from over. In an interview Wall Street JournalPosted on Tuesday, June 25, US Ambassador to Beijing Nicholas Burns, Condemns the repeated obstruction of US public diplomacy in China. Already 61 US public events — documentary screenings, concerts, debates — China’s main intelligence agency, the Ministry of State Security, has barred Chinese citizens from attending. Officials summoned those who went there, sometimes late at night. “They say they are in favor of the union of our two peoples, but they are lining up impressive measures to make it impossible”confirms this seasoned diplomat.
On both sides of the Pacific, the supposed friendship between the two peoples continues to be highlighted in order to believe that Sino-US conflict is inevitable. Indeed, years of the Covid-19 pandemic and mutual animosity between the governments have dealt a severe blow to the bond between the two countries.
Mr. According to Burns, half of Chinese applicants selected for US-sponsored university exchange programs have withdrawn due to pressure. US personnel responsible for university cooperation can no longer be accepted at student fairs in China. If the U.S. has issued 105,000 student visas to the Chinese in 2023 — the highest level since Covid-19 — the embassy complains of difficulty processing files due to a lack of staff: China has not allowed the U.S. mission to hire Chinese staff for three years. Does the US Embassy want to organize a concert? The booked room suddenly informs him that there will be no electricity that day, even though the programs were held there the day before and will be held there the next day as well.
Anti-American sentiment
Chinese Diplomatic Spokesperson Mao Ning, Mr. Burns alleges through this interview. “Departed from Critical Consensus” From San Francisco. In response, he says that when Chinese students enter American soil, they are routinely interrogated and harassed under the guise of national security.
Sino-US people-to-people exchanges are at a very low level, especially much lower than in Europe. Before Covid-19, there were 345 direct flights connecting China to the US every week, but that has dropped to 12 in 2023 and only a hundred today. By comparison, flights between China and France have resumed at 60% of pre-pandemic levels. China now allows fourteen-day visa-free travel from most European countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand, but no such opening is currently expected with the US.
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